


Little Connor is on the Case

by Fizzabel



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Baby Connor - Freeform, Caretaking, Father-Son Relationship, First couple chapters Connor is an adult, Fluff, Funny, Gen, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Humour, Major fluff later in story, Parent Hank Anderson, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-06-23 13:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 79,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15607161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fizzabel/pseuds/Fizzabel
Summary: An extremely disturbing case where android children are popping up left and right with a bullet through the brain is assigned to Hank and Connor, but with such little evidence at each crime scene Connor decides the best way to catch the killer(s) is to become a child himself.Hank is pissed, Fowler is thrilled, and Connor is overwhelmed. How does he handle the new receptors and emotions that come with being a child? Can he look after himself? Does he realise what mess he's got himself into?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pizelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pizelle/gifts).



> This is my first time actually writing an original fic on this website, so hopefully I've got enough tags to get attention xD ah man it's strange not being able to use keyboard emojis. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! I'll hopefully get two chapters out a week, but I rarely put up fics that aren't already completed as a full draft so... We'll see how that goes. 
> 
> This fic is dedicated to Pizelle for being the inspiration for it! You should definitely check out their fic Raising Connor, it's amazing and adorable :D

Connor leapt over the rooftop, rolling as he landed on the one below. He barely hesitated as he was back up and running, yelling for the person to stop. He’d never met a human with so much stamina before; while Connor was nowhere near tired this human should have been slowing down at least but they showed no signs of stopping. They currently had rooftops to jump across, but they would run out eventually and Connor knew they’d then be cornered. Exactly as planned. 

Hank was somewhere on the ground, sending younger and faster officers to follow them on foot while he stood at a distance to see where they went. He could still barely see them, occasionally seeing their heads pop up as they jumped to the next building. Even in his prime Hank didn’t know if he would have lead such a long chase, he probably would’ve lost him at the two meter drop to one of the buildings. What kind of human got no damage without some kind of training or enhancement? 

They reached the end of the buildings and the human came to a sudden halt at the edge, looking over with slight worry on his face. He looked back at Connor who was now barely a few steps away, gun drawn and aiming it at them. They knew Connor’s precision was going to be accurate, one wrong move and he’d be shot, possibly dead. Not on his watch.. nobody would cause his death except for himself.

He stood on the ledge. “Stop!” Connor warned, taking a few steps closer. “Just step down, and nobody has to get hurt.” 

They turned so that they faced Connor, dropping their gun and opening their arms out wide. “You don’t kill me. I do!” Connor stayed where he was. “You’ll never get the information.”

As soon as Connor’s scanner picked up movement of their feet he too dropped his gun and ran forward. His actions were faster than his own thoughts, grabbing onto the human’s arm.. but his probability scanner had been against him. There had been a 76% chance he’d be able to pull the human back up and he would detain him, but the other 24% had been the outcome.

Like when he scanned his surroundings it felt like time slowed down. Connor used the human to rotate himself underneath and grip him by the arms. He didn’t even have time to register he might die doing this, this is something he would’ve done as a machine, like with Daniel on the roof.. “Connor, no!” 

Hank sprinted towards the building they had been on, only seeing Connor run for the human and then they’d both fallen out of view, but Hank knew it was over. Why would Connor do that!? They didn’t have bodies of his model anymore, if he was dead he was dead for good! “Connor!”

Other officers were stood at the alleyway where they would’ve landed, four of them stood in a line but Hank pushed through only to stop in his tracks like the others. They.. weren’t on the ground. 

There was a scuffle from one of the open skips, a human arm covered in blood slinging over the edge. Then a head popped up, blood down their cheek. They took one look at the officers and tried to scramble out, but without even running the officers held the man and tried to be kind as they handcuffed him and pulled him out the skip. The man looked awful, he definitely had some broken bones but the sheer amount of blood on him was nauseating.

Hank ignored it though, he went straight to the skip and peered inside, and poking out from between bin bags that had fallen on top, was Connor’s arms. “Connor!” Hank cried, desperately pulling all the bags out.

“Th-there’s broken glass everywhere.” The injured man sputtered, struggling to keep conscious while the officers tried to stop his bleeding.

Hank didn’t care. He felt some cut into his hands as he clawed away to get at Connor’s head, but once he was uncovered he had to take a step back. “H-Hank...” He wheezed, looking directly at the older man. “Hank, help...”

A couple other officers helped to try and lift Connor’s body. He was also covered in the man’s blood, but also thirium; it trickled down his chin, a few deep cuts on his arms and- “Jesus fucking Christ!” Hank exclaimed when they’d got him sat up.

-And a metal pole stuck in Connor’s lower back, acting almost as a tube for his thirium to flow out of. Someone tried to pull it out but Connor yelled at them to stop. “B-biocomponents damaged, the pole- mmph- has pierced one of them.. if you pull it out I will bleed out and shutdown.”

His LED was a dangerous red, his body now slouched against the edge of the skip, unable to move his legs. “What do you need? How can we help?”

“My station.. at Cyberlife. They.. they might not have it, b-but it’s what I used to recharge and heal any obtained injuries. Unless I was actually dead, that pod can fix anything.”

“What if they don’t have it?”

“Then I die.”

~*~  
To have Connor unconscious, upright and technically naked inside a glowing box, was unnerving to say the very least. Cyberlife had it, but Hank didn’t trust them enough to leave Connor alone, so they lugged it all the way to Hank’s house. He’d suggested the DPD, but nobody wanted to look at Connor’s unconscious body and Hank now understood why. They’d put him in the living room, just because the light it sometimes emitted when it did work on his physical body was blinding so if that had been in his bedroom he’d be even more grouchy than normal from not sleeping properly. 

Also, why did it take so damn long? They could make androids by the truck load in a day before the revolution, but Connor’s box even had a progress bar that showed how far along maintenance was, and on day eight it was only 40% done, averaging only 5% a day. Why? If Connor had been in standby then he woke whenever he wanted to, but no matter how much Hank drunkenly banged on the door and yelled for Connor to wake up, he remained motionless. Cyberlife said maintenance was different, but even so, if Connor died then Hank would always see his next body the next day in perfect condition, droning on about his ‘predecessor’s unfortunate end’ or whatever. Until Connor pulled his act together and started becoming deviant Hank barely listened to a word he said.

Past the tenth day people stopped harassing Hank on Connor’s progress and left the grumpy lieutenant to himself. Gavin joked about him never coming back, but Fowler reprimanded him on it. Hank didn’t know he could care so much about a pile of nuts and bolts, but even with a whiskey in hand and the game on, he’d find himself glancing over at the glowing box and counting down the days to when he should feel better. They’d been given a new monster of a case, and Hank wished his partner could be by his side to help, even if that meant watching Connor put blood in his mouth, but that was becoming more of a… quirk, than anything. Plus, the case was taking a horrible toll on his mental health, which is why on his ‘no drink Tuesday’ he’d had half a bottle of vodka already. His picture of Cole was in his right hand, bottle in the left. Connor would know what to say to try and cheer him up, whether that was in his social programming or whether he was just a really good friend didn’t really matter as long as Hank didn’t think about it too long. Connor was Connor. 

A ping from his tablet made Hank jostle, coming out of his daze. Couldn’t he just pass out in peace? He blindly reached for it off the table and had to squint to focus properly, stopping his eyes from going cross eyed. Seeing it was from Fowler, he already knew that meant another kidnapping had happened. 

Their case was serial child kidnapping which too often ended in death. More specifically, android children. There was a new toddler model out, and they seemed to be the most popular victims. The kidnapper would grab the child, slit their wrist to find out their race, and if thirium came out then they would take them away before their parents even knew they out of sight. Older android children were easier options since hiding their LED wasn’t a function built into the current models unless you removed it yourself, but because children had the ‘ability’ to feel pain nobody had the heart to do it. 

The alcohol in Hank’s system told him there was no point in getting up, it wasn’t worth the trouble. He’d just do it in the morning…


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap there's a lot of people. Hello everyone!! You have no idea how happy I am you're all here :)
> 
> Last chapter of adult Connor, he'll be a child starting the next one :)

Day twenty two, twelve android children killed and only five returned home safely. Apparently this case had been going for a while, but only under new android laws did it actually come to light and now the public were demanding answers, so despite the apparent idea that a child went missing almost everyday, the numbers were still terrible.

Hank walked back to his desk with a coffee, sipping at the black liquid with depression in his eyes. Connor had been stuck on 98% for three days and all he could think about was Gavin’s joke about never coming back, but when he lifted his head and saw his partner sat at his desk, all those worries finally left his body and his shoulders visibly relaxed. “Good afternoon, lieutenant.” Connor greeted, the side of his mouth twitching in an attempt at a smile. “I know you’ve missed me.”

The hungover detective put his coffee down on his desk, then gestured for Connor to follow him. Connor frowned, scanning the detective up and down before he rose from his desk. “Your heart rate is elevated and your stress levels are at an alarming 76% lieutenant, is everything alright? I could sometimes hear you while I was being fixed, are you drinking more than you should be? Have you cooked at all? Is Sumo alright? He wasn’t home when I left-“

“Zip it!” Hank snapped, tugging Connor’s sleeve so he entered the bathroom with him. “Just.. just shut up for a minute.”

“Hank?”

“What did I just fucking say!?”

Connor shut his mouth, looking at the detective who was giving Connor’s body a good look up and down. He wasn’t wearing his usual Cyberlife get up, he wore the outfit Hank had bought him, which was technically what he wore already (suit and tie) but without any android branding written all over it. Hank didn’t know how Connor would react if he simply threw away his clothes, so he’d left them stained blue and full of holes slumped over a chair where they’d been for almost a month.  
Suddenly remembering Connor had been nothing more than a white plastic android in the box, he realised that Connor coming back to reality meant he probably would’ve grown back his synthetic skin and to Hank, he’d look like a naked man.. despite Connor’s soft facial features, the thought of Connor naked was too embarrassing to think about. Why was he even thinking about it? 

Hank slapped him. Connor’s head snapped back forward, but his hand did go up to where Hank struck him. “That’s for jumping off a fucking building! You could’ve fucking died, you idiot! What kind of fucking statistics went through your head when you did that!?" Connor opened his mouth to speak but got interrupted. “You almost gave me a damn heart attack! All I could see was your head and then suddenly it went over the edge! Did you calculate you’d fall in that fucking skip? Count ya cards? Place ya bets and get lucky!? Don’t gamble with your life just because you’re a fucking android, alright!?” Hank looked at his LED and saw it flickering yellow, almost red at times. Hank sighed. He put one hand on the back of the android’s neck and tugged so that he could wrap his arms round in a tight embrace. “I’m too old to be scared like that.” His voice was much softer, almost a whisper. “You’re my partner, my best friend, and I’ve lost enough people in my life to know I don’t want to lose another. I thought I’d lost you Connor.”

Connor was slow to hug the man back, but touching Hank’s back spread a warmth through his body. “I’m.. I’m sorry. I calculated the chance of me pulling them back, it was 74%, but it turned out the odds were against me. I just.. I just went for him, something told me the case was more important so I ran ahead. I was scared too, Hank.. I was scared when I was falling, I didn’t want to fall, I didn’t..” He hesitated. “I didn’t want to leave you either.”

Hank pulled away, holding the android’s face in his hands. “Even if your chance is 99%, never do that again.. I need you here, with me, and not just to be an officer, but as my friend. You got that?”

“Got it.” Hank let go and took a couple steps back. “My last recorded date of being in working order was over 15 days ago, is that correct?”

“Yeah, you’ve been in that box 23 days. I spent the first few at home to make sure you were alright, but when a new case started I had no choice but to come in. Well, I could’ve yelled at Fowler over the phone, but.. this case is a big one. Plus you were taking fucking ages to even get to 10%.”

“I’m sorry. As a prototype, a regular mechanic would not have-“

“Yeah yeah I know, Cyberlife gave me that lecture when we got you there. Come on, we need to get back to work. I’m so fucking happy you’re here but in all my career I’ve never been on a case so fucked up.”

“What is it?”

As they walked back to their desks Hank explained what was going on. Android children were being taken, human children were being hurt because they were being mistaken for androids, and 71% of them weren’t coming back alive. How could you come back with those kind of results and not feel ashamed about them? Even Connor seemed slightly shocked, and he asked why we weren’t simply tracking them but Hank said that the killer took them out until he’d killed them, then he’d put it back in and DPD or someone else would find them in a pool of thirium with impossible reactivation. There was so little evidence to go off and with Connor out of action they felt almost helpless. Connor said he’d give it his best shot, an idea already in his head, but it was one of a last resort. 

Hank left him down in the evidence room, returning upstairs to do paperwork on the most recent death, 6:52 this morning which Hank discovered himself, albeit by accident. The image was stuck in his mind; it was a toddler model, based off a five year old, a little boy with blonde hair and a bullet hole right between his eyes. Pale blue tears were down the boy’s cheeks and Hank couldn’t help but think of Cole.

He remembered it clear as day, the amount of nightmares he’d had about the event wouldn’t let him forget. When the car flipped Hank was semi-conscious, he knew he was in pain but he could hear sobbing in the back. Struggling, he managed to undo his seatbelt and turn around. Cole was stuck in his car seat, his body seemed slightly mangled and he had a large cut on the side of his head. “Daddy… Daddy I’m scared.” He whimpered.

“It’s going to be okay, son, I promise. Just- just hold on, someone will come help us.” 

Of course, the help came, and the last Hank saw of his son alive was unconscious on a stretcher. The boy this morning really struck a nerve and Hank struggled to fill in the paperwork for him. The kid deserved a life just like a human child would; what kind of monster would do such a thing? They found fingerprints at every scene, but whoever it was kept using something to mess them up. Maybe Connor could piece them together, like a puzzle. That’s how he found Jericho after all and started this whole mess… 

Connor returned after about twenty minutes down there. He paused to scan his partner, but Hank had his head in his hands so he didn’t notice. “Your stress levels are now at 80% lieutenant. Did something happen while I was downstairs?” Hank didn’t answer him, but Connor’s question did raise his stress level so Connor left him be and started to look through the files of all the children, the most recent being this morning. “Oh.” He said, the realisation hitting him like the pole in his back. “I see..”

“He looked so much like him. Same age, same colour eyes… practically only difference was his fucking hair.”

“If it’s any consolation, if Cole were around he’d be safe because he’s a human.”

“Yeah well someone might still slit his fucking wrist. Attempted kidnapping is equally terrible to happen to a parent, because you almost lose your kid. Nobody wants to lose their kid.” Connor felt like he should attempt to comfort the detective, but they’d never shown that kind of intimacy too often, and Hank rarely spoke about Cole, or any sensitive part of his life.

Connor was going to ask if it was okay to hug him, but he decided against it. He stood up and came up behind Hank’s chair. Hank turned to look at him. “Connor what are you-“ He froze when Connor hugged him. 

The android had put one arm over his shoulder and the other around his waist, gently rubbing his back. It wasn’t warm, in fact his body was fairly cold, but it was gentle. Connor had never initiated a hug before, and the motion of it filled Hank with.. happiness. He hugged the android back, feeling some sort of bond now created between them, something more than partners, more than friends, but he didn’t know what it was. He just knew that he didn't want to let go. 

After their embrace, the two got back to work. Connor seemed to be thinking something so he spent most of the day looking through the files, trying to find patterns and connect them to the evidence he’d seen. There wasn’t a whole lot to go off, this human really knew what he was doing, but he didn’t want to throw away the possibility of multiple people being involved; the places just seemed too scattered and far apart for one person to do it.

In desperation, Connor thought he may as well offer the idea to Hank and see what he says. “Hank, I have an idea.” He got a glance to show he was listening. “The most obvious idea is to send someone to try and find out where they take these children, or at least to discover ho they are. The only way to do that, would be to send an android child with either cameras or another tracker so we can follow them. H-however..” He could Hank’s face scrunching up, ready to burst. “I understand sending a child is a terrible idea.”

“Then get to the fucking point.”

“What if I go?”

Hank paused, fingers hovering above his keyboard. “You’re not a kid, Connor, by activation date yes you are but you look like a 30 year old man.”

“I know that. What if we transferred my memory into a child model? Or the toddler? I would lose some of my abilities, but Cyberlife could customise the model so that I could still contact you, and perhaps keep working here as well in the meantime when we’re not out.. trying to get me kidnapped.”

“Don’t be fucking stupid Connor.”

“What’s the issue?”

“I can’t lose you! What if you fail, huh? You die! Did you not listen to a fucking word I said in that bathroom?” 

Connor’s LED flickered to red, but then stayed steady on yellow. “I didn’t know you had such strong opinions about me.. I’m sorry, I’ll forget the idea.” 

Hank wanted to retaliate, wanted to rant to Connor about how he needs to treat his own body with some respect, about how much it hurts him to see Connor get hurt, but Connor was saved by the ping of a notification; an android murder, but this one was an adult. “See? We got another case, without any fucking kids involved. You can’t keep doing these if you’re a kid.”

“I don’t see why I couldn’t. I’d just be smaller.” Hank gave him the stink eye, but it went right over Connor’s head.

“Let’s just go.”

~*~

The case wasn’t hard, the killer was the neighbour, fingerprints everywhere and the interrogation from Hank lasted barely half an hour before they caved in. Hank looked at the calendar and let out a quiet chuckle when he realised today was a night Connor allowed him to go to a bar, and it was up to his self conscious to drink as much as he wanted. After today with Connor coming back, wanting to be a child, the Cole looking boy.. he’d need a taxi home. 

Connor said he would meet him at home, he needed to speak to Fowler. Hank frowned, but Connor didn’t seem to be telling him why. Hank couldn’t have cared less, he just went “pah!” and shrugged on his jacket before leaving the station. Connor saw Fowler at his computer, seemingly deep in his work. “Captain Fowler?” Connor knocked on the door, opening it once he was gestured to come in. “Sorry, is now a bad time?”

“Not at all. What do ya need, Connor?”

“It’s about the child abductions.” Fowler’s face fell a little. “I have an idea on how we might be able to catch the killer.”

“Oh- well I’m all ears! Please, take a seat.”

Settling himself in one of the plastic chairs, Connor leant forward and balanced his elbows on his knees before telling Fowler what he suggested to Hank earlier. He felt almost cruel going behind Hank’s back, but he knew Fowler which is much more limited knowledge of any android, would most likely agree to the proposition.  
When Connor began to describe the customisation of their own YK500 model with Connor’s memory and abilities built in so he could still go on other cases, Fowler’s expression began to show happiness. The model would probably take three days to make, one for the facial features and adding on the RK800 sensors and scanners, then the other two to make Connor simply compatible with it. “So you’d be out of commission for two days?” Fowler asked, lazily swaying side to side in his chair.

“Unfortunately, yes. If they don’t do it correctly then I may lose some of my memories or I could malfunction because my data memory is far greater than of a child, even if I were a human you couldn’t put an adult brain into a child. However, I warn you there might be a chance that I-“

“No need to hear the downside, I’ll call Cyberlife in the morning. If there’s side effects then so be it, this could be a breakthrough in the case and an end to the killings! What happens if you get killed?”

His LED flickered red, but he brought up a hand to hide it. “I’m not sure. I can’t really say if I’ll be dead for good, I can still technically upload my memory to the cloud, but I don’t know what Cyberlife would do with that information or if a child model even has the ability to upload. I only have so much storage because of access to the cloud.”

“I see. I’ll see if they can give us something for you to upload to, just in case. What else would you need?”

“I have a list. I’ll send it in an email right now.” Connor’s eyes twitched, blinking a couple times and then the notification came through on Fowler’s computer. “Tell that to Cyberlife and hopefully it will all fit.”

Fowler nodded. “Thank you for this chat, Connor, why don’t you go home for the night? I certainly will.”

“Soon. Thank you for agreeing, Captain Fowler.”

“Please, it’s going to be my pleasure!”

~*~

“You _WHAT!?”_

Hank pushed Connor up against the wall, faces inches from each other. He was seething with rage, trying to threaten Connor and it was certainly working emotionally. He just let Hank hold him by the collar, letting out his protest through profanities that meant nothing to Connor’s mind. Of course he would be angry that Connor was off to Cyberlife and would be gone for two days only to come back as a child. “Why are you so worried, Hank? Do you think I’ll look like-“

“Don’t you dare say his name. Don’t you fucking dare!”

“It’ll be okay, I’ll still be me, just in a child’s body.”

“No needs? Just a prick in a smaller body?”

“I can’t promise anything.” Hank let him go. “I can just stay at the DPD, if having me around at home makes you feel uncomfortable. I’ll be able to take care of myself.”  
Hank opened his mouth to speak, but shut it again.

“This conversation isn’t over yet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adjgkjskd that last couple paragraphs seems outta place I know but it seems even worse a starter to the next chapter!
> 
> Btw if anyone has some scenes they'd like to see with kid Connor let me know in the comments and I'll try to implement it :D
> 
> Let's see if I can keep this schedule: See ya on monday! Hopefully chapters will come out Monday and Friday :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I guess I should start using these.
> 
> Hank is a bit of a dick, Connor has his first case and realises being a child is very different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus this was accidentally a massive chapter. Where I write this story on Word, whenever I find a break in scenes or whatever I use a ~*~ symbol so.. yeah, I just happened to not use one for almost 4000 words. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> P.S I drew lil Connor in the Notes at the end, I hope you like it ^^

Connor opened his eyes. He was suspended, but he was slowly being lowered onto the ground. “Connor, how do you feel?” He blinked a few times, adjusting to the brightness of the room. He looked down at himself, only wearing a pair of blue underwear that had ducks on them. His arms were shorter than he remembered, and his legs too. “Connor?”

“I feel fine.” He looked forward, his LED briefly going yellow at the sound of his voice. 

“What do you remember? What’s your earliest memory in the field?” There was a woman behind a screen, talking into a microphone.

His eyes rolled up into his head as he tried to remember, eyelids fluttering. “Daniel. He was holding a girl over the edge of a building.”

“Do you remember Hank?”

More fluttering. “Hank..” His LED went red, remembering all the times Hank yelled at him, pushed him up against a wall.. Then all the times he pulled him out of harm’s way, tried to protect him, opened up about his insecurities. “Yeah, Hank..” He gasped, feeling something wet on his face. Was he crying? 

He stepped forward onto a treadmill, taken to a new area where he did some tests to see if his old abilities still worked in the new body. He scanned various items, both with sight and taste, and then the general moving his limbs around. He passed, now being helped into some clothes by an android woman, the same who had been talking him through the tests. “I warn you Connor, we couldn’t remove the toddler needs and wants from your combined programming, but currently your old RK800 system is mostly dominant, but you will still need to drink a special liquid, get washed, and your emotions are going to be a lot more sensitive, and now you can technically feel pain. Do you have someone to take care of you in this form?”

Unless Hank refused to have him.. “Yes.”

“Here.” She handed him a cuddly dog that looked like Sumo. “I saw the dog in your memories, I thought you might like him. Just remember, the longer you stay like this the more toddler you will become since your most mature features and lack of emotion is left behind in your old form. It might not happen for quite a while, or you might be completely ‘transformed’ by the end of the week.”

“Thanks!” Connor hugged it, surprising himself with the enthusiasm. “I understand. I’ll complete my mission nice and quick!”

“Okay, off you go.” She smiled and gestured to the taxi outside. “This will take you to the DPD so you can continue your work. Good luck, Connor.” She kissed his forehead and Connor felt comfort from it, smiling up at the woman.

He climbed into the taxi and she did up a car seat over him. “Just press that red button once you arrive and climb out. Think you can do that?”

“Yup!” Where was this enthusiasm coming from? It felt so strange, he’d never felt any kind of emotion this strongly before. Well, maybe being lost but he didn’t consider that an emotion.

The ride was so much more.. vibrant, than Connor remembered. The colours all blurred by, the leaves falling off the trees in the warm autumn climate. It looked lovely, and he wondered if Hank would walk with him through the park at some point. Maybe he would as an adult, but now.. he felt a little scared. Wow, and this was just when the toddler emotions were minor in his programming, what were they on full? Was Connor just sensitive? Why was he sensitive?

He was in a sour mood when they arrived at the building. The taxi told him they had arrived, so Connor looked down at his belt and pressed the red button as instructed, and the belts popped away! He slid out of them and the door opened automatically. Wow that was a.. relatively big jump. He’d done bigger in the past, this couldn’t be too bad... Connor jumped and he was on the ground in less than a second, but he lost his balance and fell onto his hands and knees. “Ow!” He cried, looking at the scrapes on his hands, but he was otherwise unscathed. “Ow…”

He held the plush dog and headed for the steps, taking it slow because they felt so much steeper now that he was almost three foot shorter than he had been. Was this really the life of a child? Everything was so big! It sucked! How was he even going to show his Cyberlife letter and new ID to the receptionist if he couldn’t even reach it? The doors took a jump to register he was even there, too light for the sensors underground. The room was fairly empty, a few humans sitting around, one staring at him. “Excuse me!” Connor called to the receptionist.

A man peered over. “Hey little guy, what can I help you with?” He smiled, noticed his LED, but kept smiling.

“It’s me, Connor.” He held up his letter and new ID, showing his current face on it. “This is my new body because it’s useful for one of the cases we are working on.” Good, his vocabulary was still mature.

“Oh, well welcome back. Lieutenant Anderson is currently in a board meeting, but your desk is as you left it.” 

Connor took his ID back. “Thanks.” 

He shoved it into his pocket and again had to jump for the gate to open to let him in, then the automatic door too. The office was fairly empty as always, so Connor headed for his desk. Crap, his chair was high up. He threw the toy up and then jumped, gripping to the back of the seat to drag himself up on it. It wasn’t too bad, but when he sat down his feet just about dangled over the edge, so he’d either have to kneel or stand on the chair and that was going to be a one way ticket to falling off. A group of officers, including Hank, came out of one of the meeting rooms all talking to one another. Why leave the room if you weren’t done talking? “Hank!” Connor cried, kneeling up on his chair to wave at him. 

All the officers looked over and a few awed, calling out how cute he is and how they wanted to- squeeze his cheeks? Who did that? Hank looked almost angry, walking over and looking down at Connor. Something in his mind stopped him from doing anything because.. well, Connor was really cute. Big brown eyes, scruffy dark brown locks with a bit of fringe that was in front of his eyes, and a pale green uniform from Cyberlife. He was adorable, especially with a stuffed dog that looked just like Sumo when he was a puppy. Cole used to hug him like that.. “Wow, you are ripe for kidnapping.” Fowler commented, a little too loudly. 

Oh yeah, that. Connor was looking at Hank, wondering what he was going to do. “I’m not working with a toddler.” Hank hissed. “You’re being stupid, Connor. This whole idea is a fucking mess.” He gave the chair a push, sending Connor skidding across the room.

“Woooooah!” Connor gripped to the chair, his arms wrapped around one of the chair's. “Uhm- help? I can’t get down..”

“Hank, don’t be a dick.” Fowler grumbled, going over to the chair and gently pulling Connor back to his desk. “Connor is still the same, he just looks different.”

He was ignored. Connor thanked the captain and knelt up in his chair, keeping the dog toy by his legs and he looked up at the computer, navigating it with his eyes. “Another girl died yesterday.” Connor commented when everyone had dispersed. “Did you find her family?”

“Orphan. Her home was Jericho, she went missing three days ago. Presumed to have wandered out on her own, Markus himself said she was with the others but he didn’t know her too well since she was new.”

Connor looked up her location, tried to access his mind map and let out a little whimper. His brain wasn’t big enough, he couldn’t store it himself. Hank glanced his way, but Connor was just staring at his screen, slowly uploading his map onto the computer so that he could spread it out there instead. A child brain was already terrible, he couldn’t wait to become an adult again. 

Something popped up and Connor grinned. Time to test out his things in the field. “Hank, human found dead, can we go?”

“Not as if we have anything else to do. Come on, we’ll take my car.”

“Uhm-“ Hank was already walking away, purely out of habit.

Connor looked down at the ground, then wiggled to test the stability of the chair. Why did his chair have to have wheels… He stood, planning to jump off, but his weight forced the chair to swing backwards and he fell forward, smacking his face into the desk before falling with a crash to the floor. The sound was loud enough to turn heads, even Hank stopped to look back at him. Connor was silent, a hesitant finger going to his bleeding nose and he looked down at himself. “Are you-“ Connor burst into a wail. 

Except the trip outside, he’d never felt pain before and he decided he _hated it_. “Oooooow!” He cried, tears running down his cheeks. “Ooooooow!!”

A woman quickly rushed over to him with tissues, dabbing at his face. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, you're okay! Come here, you’re alright. Hold this to your nose, it’ll stop the bleeding sweetheart.” Connor knew that already, he knew he was fine, but he just couldn’t stop crying so he let this woman hold a tissue to his nose. “Are you hurt anywhere else? What hurts?” Connor pointed to his forehead so she gently put her palm on it, warming him up. “Does that feel better?”

“Y-yeah..”

Hank felt a little guilty. He should’ve been the one to rush over, use his handkerchief to stop the bleeding and put a hand on his head.. but just because it was Connor he couldn’t let the anger go away. It was Connor, why was he crying? Connor had gotten himself _killed_ before and in fights he was tough as nails, so why would he sit crying on the floor about a bloody nose? He’d had bullet wounds before and just stood there bleeding until Hank convinced him to go get fixed. Connor got back to his feet once he felt better and walked over to Hank, reaching up for his hand but Hank didn’t let him take it. “Let’s just get to the scene, get this over with.” Connor complied quietly, having to run to keep up with Hank’s long strides.

He paused when they were outside, a warning message popping into his vision about low fluids. Further inspection said that low fluids would cause irritability and low energy. “Hank, I-“

“We don’t have time for waiting around, Connor.”

“No, but I need-“

“Let’s go.” 

Connor looked back at the station, but he couldn’t be bothered to jump at all the doors and open the cardboard box by his desk himself, so he pressed his lips together and jumped down the steps to follow Hank around to the car park. Once the old man got cranky Connor knew there was no way of convincing him to do anything else, so maybe they weren’t close enough, or maybe Hank really hated him like this. He’d barely glanced in any windows or mirrors, so Connor realised he actually had no idea what he looked like. Was he ugly? Cyberlife wouldn’t do that, he was supposed to look as angelic as possible so he’d be targeted, but also look like a simply younger version of the RK800. Had they not done that? Did he remind Hank too much of his own son? 

At the car, Hank realised that Connor was far too short to wear a seatbelt normally. “Ah Christ, didn’t you come with a car seat or something?”

“I did, but it’s back at the office. I tried to tell you but-“

“Fuck’s sake..” Connor huffed, beginning to get frustrated at being ignored. “I got an idea.”

He grabbed the blanket Sumo always sat on from the boot of his car and folded it up a few times so it acted as a boost for Connor to sit on. Almost reluctantly, he picked Connor up and put on the seatbelt since he couldn’t reach. He could feel Connor’s gaze on him, those soft brown eyes looking at him with a mixture of frustration and a childlike wonder. Probably wondering why he was being so cold towards him, but it just reminded him too much of Cole and he was afraid of trying to parent the android because he blamed himself for what happened (as well as the surgeon on red ice) and Connor was purposefully wanting to be taken away, so that stabbed an arrow right through Hank’s heart. 

The dog plush really just seemed to tie up the whole awkwardness in a neat little bow. Connor hugged to it with one arm and the other held his seatbelt for some form of stability. Hank wasn’t a bad driver, he drove somewhat slower though because subconsciously he did know there was a child in his backseat; an android one, Connor, but still a child. Did the kid have needs? Cyberlife only produced child models and spare parts now because androids were wanting families, so who knew what kind of realistic things they’d put into the new toddler prototype.

He glanced back at Connor occasionally, but the boy was looking out the window, obviously taking in the outside world. He’d seen it before, what had changed? Was it childish curiosity that had now be programmed into him? Was he bored? Thinking? He wasn’t easy to read anymore, but maybe if the detective bothered listening to the kid when he spoke he could get an idea for what was going through his head.

They arrived at the scene, a fairly nice looking house with a not so nice looking front garden. Connor noticed the mud everywhere and decided to leave his dog plush in the car and instead used the spare hand to grip Hank's arm as he lifted him out the car to gently put him on the ground. What, he won't carry him? Outdoors was a mess! His shoes weren't made for mud, they were white plimsolls! Connor tried reaching for Hank's hand instead but he was brushed off, so he just waddled behind, trying to step in his footprints to stay clean. “Don’t mind the kid, it’s just Connor in another body." Hank spoke to an officer who greeted them. "So what happened?”

“Android gone crazy. We feel this might be similar to the Carlos Ortiz case from last year; the android had been kept secret during the revolution and never went deviant, I guess they recently did and killed their owner.”

“And you know this, how exactly?”

They shrugged. “It’s an educated guess. The android is actually still here, locked themselves in the bedroom and they’re too insane for us to negotiate with so that’s why we called you out. Although now that your android is a kid..”

“I can still do it.” The high pitched voice he now had didn’t sound too convincing. “It’s just a new body, I am still fully fun..func... working as I was before. Do I need to scan anything?” Connor tried looking through the front door of the house and saw some blood on the walls. “Do we know who she is? How she died?” 

“No not as of yet. Feel free to go ahead, I’ll be here if you need anything.” 

Connor nodded and went ahead. Hank wondered that he might be reluctant to go near it, but if he was still Connor, then he shouldn’t be phased by anything.. right?  
The small boy walked through the front door and looked at the blood stains running up the walls. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and followed the trail on the ground through to the kitchen, freezing in the doorway. To try and distract himself he quickly brought up his scanner, but then he was zooming in on all the horrible features he wanted to currently run away from. Why was he so scared? It was just a dead woman… with an exposed brain… and blood everywhere… skull fragmants… “Oh jesus Christ!” Hank exclaimed, making a hurling noise and turning his head away. “Not even a fucking warning!? Her brain is on the floor!”

Connor whimpered beside him, starting to shake. A gentle nudge from Hank made him step forward and he stood next to the dead woman, looking her up and down to try and avoid scanning the very obvious cause of death. She had blood under her fingernails, her clothes were creased up and she was missing a shoe; clear signs of a struggle. She hadn’t wanted to die. 

He looked to her face. Nose snapped to the left, jaw broken, a couple teeth on the floor, her eyes wide open and glazed over.. Connor’s LED was going crazy, flashing an angry red as he started to pant. Did child androids breathe? Maybe he was cooling down his body, overheating from the fear making his whole body rigid. Her brain… god her brain… there was so much blood. It was everywhere. It had dripped down her face leaving red and brown streaks; it stuck to her hair, her skull caved in, fragments stuck to her face with her blood. 

A strong hand clapped on his shoulder and the boy jumped a good foot up in the air “Woah! You okay Connor? You’ve been staring at her for a good minute.” Connor didn’t say anything, he went back to actually scanning her. “Earth to Connor?”

“Maria Polar. Thirty years old, worked as a manager of a call centre. No c-criminal record, she seems like a normal person..” He bent over and dipped a finger into the blood, shaking as he brought it to his tongue to confirm the blood was indeed hers.

“So gross… Okay, well I guess that doesn’t tell us a whole lot. Do you need to take a break? I’ve never seen your LED like this.”

“I-I’m okay. I think these.. these child emotions are trying to affect me but.. my code is trying to take over.”

“In English?”

“Part of me wants to scream and the other part of me wants to just find the murder weapon and interrogate this android about why they’d do such a thing.” His legs were shaking, making the rest of him wobble so Hank held him by both shoulders to steady him. “I’ll go interrogate him.”

“You’re just a kid.”

“I’m an android.” Connor seemed almost in a daze, walking off without another word.

A trail of thirium went up the staircase and lead to a locked door on the left. He analysed it; Richard, a WB400 model, tracker deactivated 14 hours ago. Not even a whole day as a deviant and they already killed someone... Connor knocked, asking for the android to come out and talk to him. He got a panicked yell in response, multiple times, so Connor chose that the best approach was to yell back. Obviously. It sounded like a child have a tantrum to everyone waiting downstairs, except Connor was yelling about brutal murder.

He did manage to find out that they didn't regret what they did, but Connor couldn't get the motive. He'd got fixated on something - Hank's favourite part of the argument actually - about Richard not believing that Connor was an android, and Connor was adamant on making him believe that he was. "Well maybe if you _fucking_ opened the door you'd see I'm an android!"

Silence. 

The door clicked open and Connor was met with the barrel of a gun about a meter from his face. Connor froze on the spot, the android's face blurry as all his attention was on the thirium stained finger resting on the trigger. "Put the gun down!" An officer yelled, running up the stairs and pushing Connor behind them.

"A child... I threatened a child..." Connor watched between the officer's legs, unable to look away. "I'm so sorry..." He watched as the barrel of the gun changed its angle, and before the officer had a chance to run forward a gunshot rang out and the android's body tumbled to the floor.

Connor _screamed_. He scrambled backwards as fast as he could, tripping over himself twice until he hit the back wall, staring at the android. He could see his face, staring right at him, thirium trickling out of the hole in his jaw, overflowing out through his mouth. He burst into tears, he didn’t know what else to do. “Hank!” He cried, rubbing furiously at his eyes. “Hank, help me! Help me..”

He sobbed into his hands, trying to get the images out of his head but all he could see was dead bodies, staring at him with their lifeless eyes. “Connor! Connor are you alright? What happened? Speak to me.” He tried pulling away Connor’s hands but it only made the boy cry more when he tried. “It’s okay, it’s okay. Look at me Connor, look at me. You can’t see him anymore look at me.”

Connor opened his eyes, his pupils wide and full of fear. Hank licked his thumb and wiped at Connor’s cheek, getting rid of some thirium that had splattered onto him. “Take in deep breaths, you need to calm down. Yeah? Calm down, calm down. Hold your breath, then let it out real slow.” Connor shook his head, just stopping breathing altogether. “Right, don’t need to breathe..” Connor exhaled, slowly. “Hey, that’s more like it. Can you do that again for me?”

His eyes darted to the side but Hank moved to block his view. “I’m scared… I want to leave, I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“That’s okay, we can go back to the station. You did a very good job today, you discovered so much.”

“Th-that android shot himself! I-It’s my fault I didn’t talk to him right if I just did it right and kept it calm then he might be okay he might be alive he wouldn’t be dead it’s all my fault!" Hank tried shushing him. "I didn't keep calm I should've kept calm if I kept calm then maybe he wouldn't have died maybe he would've just come out the room maybe if I asked different questions I would've got more answers maybe if I-"

“Hey, hey! Calm down, calm down.. You're going to hyperventilate if you don't pace yourself. You did the best you could and that’s all you can do. Still far better than any old human like me could get out of 'em.” Connor looked up at him, starting to calm down. “You talked to him, you got a confession, you found out details about that woman downstairs. It’s a shame it had to end this way but the only other option was to put him in a cell.” Connor whimpered. “Let’s go, our job is done here.”

Hank made a move to stand but Connor suddenly clutched to his shirt. “No, don’t go!” He whined, burying his face into the detective’s hip. 

“Heh… come here.” Hank picked him up, using one arm to hold him up and the other went across his back to hold him close. “Keep your head down, okay? Just shut your eyes until we’re outside, I’ll let you know when.”

Connor did as he was told, hiding his face in Hank’s shirt collar as he was carried through the house. Hank explained the situation, and they were allowed to leave. He slowly stroked through Connor’s hair and down his back, gently shushing him as he walked. “What got you so worked up, Connor? What was it?” Hank asked, opening up the back door. 

“I’m sorry.. I-It must be the toddler code in me.” Ah, there was Connor. “More dominant than I expected…”

“Well that doesn’t matter, I guess we just put work around your needs.” Connor lifted his head once he was in the car, letting go of Hank’s shirt in favour of his dog toy. “I’m sorry for ignoring you, it’s just.. difficult, to have to look after a child again.”  
“I-I understand. I will stay in the office overnight. It will give you time alone to adjust to me.” Feeling more himself, Connor almost cringed away when Hank wiped his face with a tissue. “If you would like.”

“We still got an afternoon of work to do, we’ll discuss it then.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This picture was bigger than expected but I'm too lazy to use html to change that xD I'm glad you guys seem to be loving this story as much as I am, make sure to leave any suggestions or questions down in the comments, I'll see you at the end of the week! <333


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor spends the night at the DPD but Hank feels bad

Hank helped Connor with opening up the cardboard box Cyberlife had sent them, finding packages of liquid inside both thirium and something simply labelled ‘Drink’. A car seat, and an instruction manual. Connor was given one of the pouches once he could finally tell Hank he was running low, so he sat on Hank’s chair, gently squeezing the pouch and tasting every bit. Having taste was amazing, and he was able to analyse every bit that touched his tongue. 

He was watching Hank read the manual, sat on the floor and skimming through all the pages he considered to not be important, but even the actually important pages was just paragraphs of text and it bored him to death. A child couldn’t be that hard, he didn’t need to read all about the emotions and stuff, just the special techy androidy stuff. There was a surprising amount of things that were so human like, but that’s probably why they were implemented. “See ya later, Hank.. Connor.” Fowler walked past, giving a general wave goodbye. 

Connor gave an enthusiastic one back, and Hank grumbled a ‘see ya’. “Is it complicated?” Connor asked, waggling his hips to try and make the chair move. 

“There’s a whole bunch of stuff. Like taking care of an actual toddler. I mean you need to go to the toilet! But you’re an android!”

“While I don’t have a digestive track, these liquids I drink help keep my biocomponents cool and they have to exit somehow. I should have two a day, but today I’ve only had one because of the case taking so long.” It was the evening now, most officers heading home. “Will you leave soon? Sumo is probably due for a walk, he will need going outside before he soils your carpet again.”

“Yeah, guess I should.” Connor was hoping Hank would offer to bring him along, but he didn’t say anything. “I need a fucking drink. I’ve just sat here reading a manual for a fucking android kid that used to be my partner!” Connor kept quiet. “I mean- for fuck’s sake Connor what were you thinking? What are you still thinking? I don’t want you to get kidnapped, whether in child or adult form. You just came out of what was basically an android coma!”

“Hank I understand you’re upset but-“

“But nothing, alright? You never do as you’re fucking told and I see that hasn’t changed. I almost considered taking you home, but I think I’ll take that offer. Let me drink in peace.”

“Hank-“

“Goodnight, Connor.”

~*~

Most of the lights in the office had turned off, only a couple desk lights of remaining officers sticking around, but after asking them personally they were all planning to leave soon. Connor was bored, and tired, and kind of in need of the toilet. It was a weird feeling, he kind of jumped side to side, wondering if he was just agitated, but a quick google later.. what an uncomfortable feeling. He went to the men’s bathroom, and quickly discovered he was… too small. Gavin came in at that point, stopping when he saw Connor sat on the floor. “The fuck are you doing?” He asked. 

Connor stood up and his cheeks flushed blue, starting his awkward dance again. “I.. I need the toilet.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “Then go?”

“I.. I’m too short.” Connor kept jumping, and Gavin’s eyes widened when he realised what he was asking. “Please?”

Awkward silence. Gavin just wanted to take a piss then go home, but something about Connor looking and acting like he was four years old just.. struck a nerve. The LED didn’t help, but apart from that he looked just like his nephew, and he loved that kid to bits. “Fine. Fine!” Connor felt awkward too, this was horrible for the both of them, but Connor had one change of clothes and if he ruined them that was going to be an explanation and a half. Gavin even had to hold him up, his legs just weren’t long enough, and then again at the sink because he was too short. “Why didn’t Hank take you back? Thought you lived with him."

“I did, but he’s taking some time to adjust to my new form. He doesn’t like the reason for me being this size.”

“Yeah, kinda creepy. Miniature tin can now, but you talk just like an adult and honestly until you’re back to normal, could you stay outta my way? You never have but maybe as a kid you're actually an obedient machine.”

Connor looked offended, the sad look in his eyes almost making Gavin feel bad. “Goodnight, detective Reed. Thanks for your help.”

“Hey.” He grabbed his arm, tugging him back. “You will tell nobody about it. Nobody. You got that, tin can?”

“Got it.”

Connor left, going back to his desk and climbing into the chair. He could do some work, but from the emotion of the day he felt absolutely exhausted. Toddlers were meant to have loads of energy but it was barely 7pm and now that he was relieved he could feel his eyes drooping. The chair was comfortable enough, did androids need comfort? His adult body could’ve gone into standby anywhere, so maybe it was still the same.. nah who was he kidding, this chair wasn’t that comfortable but it was enough. He used the plush as a pillow and then tucked in his limbs so none of them stuck off the edges of the chair. Was this how he was going to live until they solved the case? No dead children today, that was a bonus. He and Hank, or maybe someone else if he put up a fight, would have to go out and pretend to be a family, let Connor ‘play’ with other children or in parks so that he could start doing target work. 

That was.. something to look forward to. Connor sighed, trying to empty his minds of all his thoughts. His usual method of simply going into standby wasn’t working, he was thinking too much. Empty the thoughts… Just go to sleep… Recharge…

_The woman moved, slowly moving to her feet with jittery movements. Each joint clicked as it was moved out of place, as if she’d been lying there all day. Her breath was shallow, wheezy. Her form grew ever taller and taller, casting a long shadow over Connor’s small figure. She smiled down at him, a toothy grin that was more gums than teeth. “Connor..” She sounded just like Amanda, but this was the woman from yesterday, white and blonde. “Connor, let me see you.”_

_Connor was stuck to the spot, he couldn’t move his legs. Her face was inches from his, tilted at an angle where he could see her brain, juices oozing down the side of her face and onto Connor’s shoes. He whispered for her to go away, but her smile only widened, teeth falling out. “Let me look you at you. You’re a cute little boy.” She cupped his chin, tipping it upwards. “Adorable.”_

_Her skin started to melt, turning into muscle before becoming raw bone. Connor screamed, her melted flesh landing on his own, a white hot searing pain. He yelled for it to stop, cried his heart out. He began to overheat, synthetic skin peeling away to white plastic, but the flesh burned through still. “Connor..”_

Connor screamed. He jolted awake, warnings flashing in his vision.

_-WARNING-_  
-Body temperature: High-  
-Stress level: 87%-  
-Hydration level: Low- 

What was going on? What time was it? Where was Hank? “Hank?” He called out, sitting up and looking around the room.

Connor was in the breakroom, on the sofa. Someone must have moved him; there was a cushion in use of a pillow, and a smudged blanket had fallen to his lap once he sat up. The lights were all off, the only sources being the glowing buttons and screens of the machines by the sink. One had the time, 3:42 AM. Connor wiped his eyes, trying to stop the tears. He hated these emotions; perhaps they wouldn’t be so bad if somebody was there to hug him. Androids couldn’t dream, so what the hell did he just see? A software error? That woman was dead, she couldn’t have just stood up and grown ten feet tall. It was horrifying, Connor never wanted to see such things again; so, he wrapped the blanket around himself and pulled up his knees. He’d just have to stay awake all night. Besides, cooling took ages if he stayed indoors, wrapped in a blanket.

He listened to the synthetic clock in his head, turning on a ticking noise so that he wasn’t stuck in pure silence. He hadn’t moved, just sniffling away because he was still warm and it made his nose run, but the dehydration was causing him pain and that made him cry more. “I want Hank..” Nobody could hear him, he was the only one there. He could just get a pouch himself, they were in the cardboard box which he could reach, but he didn’t feel too compelled to move. Could android kids throw up? They could certainly feel nauseous.

About an hour later the lights turned on, two people walking in. “Why do people always have to die during the middle of the fucking night?” One groaned, heading straight for the coffee machine.

“Hey-ssh!” A third person, Gavin, came running in. “You’ll wake up Connor.” They all turned to look at him, seeing him already awake and sat up. “Well.. never mind.” Connor looked to Gavin, his expression causing a pain in his heart and a blush to appear on his cheeks. “I’ll.. meet you guys there, Hank will chew me out if I don’t sort his fucking kid out.”

They left, muttering about Gavin caring for androids being a funny sight. He hated how much he felt like caring for Connor, but despite being an android, he couldn’t leave a child to cry on a sofa in a police breakroom. “Why are you awake so early?” Gavin asked, keeping his distance. 

“I-I had a nightmare.. I didn’t want to go back to sleep. Do you humans get them a lot?”

“Depends. They’re not nice, are they?” He paused, then sighed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“It was stupid.. just a dead woman coming to life.” Gavin laughed, confusing Connor. “Is that funny?”

“You dreamt about a zombie? Fucking ridiculous.. look, do you need anything?”

“A drink. There’s pouches in a cardboard box under my desk. Can you get me one please?”

“One moment.”

Gavin left, muttering to his friends to not say a word about what he was doing. Gavin wasn’t ashamed for helping, but his hatred for androids was well known around the office and while Hank had a turn around, he refused to seem like he had the same fate. He didn’t know why, maybe it was a pride thing. 

He took off the lid and Connor took the pouch, muttering a thank you before starting to suck on it. It was comforting, feeling the cool liquid travel through his body. He wasn’t hot anymore, but he got relaxation from it. His warnings started to disappear, his stress levels lowering to a semi-okay level and his power level dropped, meaning he needed to sleep again. “Detective Reed?” He called out when the older man made a coffee. “Um..” He blushed. “I’m.. I’m tired again, b-but I don’t want to have another nightmare?”

“So?”

“So can.. can I sleep with you?”

Gavin spat out his coffee, almost dropping the cup at the same time. He quickly put it down, staring at the kid. The question was genuine, Connor had learnt that children grew relationships with their parents through touch, their warmth or just their presence was enough to calm them even in dire situations. He hadn’t just been sat thinking about nothing all night. “I can’t. I’m only here early because I have a job to do, unlike some people.” Connor looked down, clutching to his toy. “Ugh.. I’m sorry, okay? Plus- I can’t just do a turnaround like Hank did. I just can’t.”

“Why not? What’s your reason for hating androids, detective?” Gavin looked at him, an emotion Connor had never seen before in his face. “You seem to know Hank’s. Does he know yours, too?”

“It’s none of your fucking business, kid. I have work to do.”

Connor nodded and watched him leave. Did nobody care about him? Gavin helped him, and judging by his behaviour he was the one who set up this temporary bed for him. He decided to stay where he was, watching people come and go. He was waiting for Hank to turn up, hoping he might be treated a little bit warmer than yesterday, like at the crime scene when Hank hugged him and comforted him. That felt really nice. Hopefully he wouldn't have to wait too long, his record for being late while Connor was around had been 2pm and he wasn't even unwell, just hungover and grumpy.

10 AM, Connor was ready to fall into sleep mode at any moment, against his own choice. Then he heard the familiar footsteps, heard the familiar gruff and hungover voice. “Hank!” Connor cried, jumping to his feet on the sofa and jumping up and down to get his attention. “Hank Hank Hank!”

The lieutenant walked in, frowning at the young boy. “Why are you so excited?”

He stopped, face falling. “I missed you. I-I had a nightmare and I wanted you to hug me like you did after that case. I.. I thought you might’ve missed me too.” 

Hank sighed. “I’m sorry, Connor, you’re owed an explanation. You’re based off a similar age to when Cole died, you’re similar in height and you have the same hair. I know a truck skidded into me, I know the surgeon was high, but I still just… blame myself a little bit for what happened. If we’d just left a little later, driven a little slower.. bad luck follows me everywhere I go, as soon as I try to settle with anything something bad happens to it. The only exception is Sumo, but that dog is old now, he hasn’t got the longest lifespan in the world.”

“Do I remind you of Cole, Lieu… loo…” Connor frowned. “Hank?”

“Caring for you. That’s what scares me.”

Connor tilted his head to the side. “Give it a try. I want to be looked after by you. Last night has proved I definitely can’t do it myself, I can’t stay here overnight and detective Reed will only help out for so long.”

“Reed? That prick helped you out?” Connor nodded. “What is this world coming to..”

Hank went to the coffee machine, choosing black as usual. He turned back to look at Connor, who had chosen to sit down again and hug his toy, looking down at the ground in defeat. This code made him depressed, feeling rather unloved. Was this neglect? Why were child emotions so complex? Even in his old body he didn’t think he could ever comprehend these kinds of emotions in someone, far more complex than the effort it took to make Ortiz’s android make a confession. That case was a lot of firsts, but easily the toughest.

Suddenly Connor was being lifted into the air then quickly pressed against something warm. Connor clutched to the material, nuzzling his face into it. “Okay, we’ll try it. What happened last night? You look exhausted.” Connor described the evening, wandering around until he needed to pee, got help, then fell asleep on the chair but woke on the sofa from a nightmare; Gavin gave him a pouch earlier, and he’d been awake for almost seven hours, slept about six. “Okay, you definitely need a nap. You’re a little old to nap in the day, but I think you’re more traumatised than you think by what you saw yesterday. I am too.”

“Really?” Connor looked up at him. 

“Of course. That’s one of the worst I’ve seen to date, and I saw some pretty bad ones during my red ice days.”

“C-can I sleep with you? I-in your lap? I feel safer around you, Hank, and I don’t want to have a nightmare again. They’re scary.”

“Ah.. alright.” Hank sat down at his desk, putting down his coffee.

Connor moved around in his lap, settling for a position where he was on his side, legs tucked up. One hand rested upright against Hank’s chest, the other held his dog plush close to his own chest; and his head rested just under Hank’s shoulder. This was so much more comfy, he could sleep the days away lying here. It was so warm, and the strong arm that held him in place, the hand that rubbed up and down his back and occasionally stroked through his hair were the most comforting things he'd felt in a long time.

Hank looked down at the sleeping boy and smiled. “Get some rest, Connor.” He turned slightly, and kissed Connor’s forehead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ajskdghkddj so many people are reading this dear lord.. hello!!!
> 
> I hope you all liked this chapter <33 If you want to see anything particular then just let me know in the comments! I'll see you guys on Monday :D
> 
> Also: If I'm not the only one seeing it can someone tell me how to get rid of having two notes?? It seems the notes from my first chapter are stuck... If you can't see it, maybe it's just a weird writer thing???


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops its a 5K chapter of pure fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so late! I spent all day binging Jacksepticeye's Undertale and... never got round to editing this until about 11:30
> 
> Edit: Posting this at 1AM. Oops.

No deaths today, so Hank spent the day either doing paperwork, filing reports, checking through old evidence on the android kidnappings, or messing on his phone. Connor seemed to be out like a light, not moving an inch from where he’d put himself in Hank’s lap. Hank had one arm around him, keeping him upright, and sometimes he’d stroke his hair while reading something on his screen until he had to scroll down. If people needed to talk to him, they did so in hushed whispers so as not to wake Connor. His LED was working as a progress bar, presumably until he was fully charged up again. Hank saw a reflection of it in his computer screen, so when it flickered into yellow he looked down with worry. Connor was waking up, half fully charged. “Hank..?” He murmured, looking around to see where he was, LED turning back to blue. 

“Hey, Con. You feeling better now?”

He shook his head a little. “’M thirsty..”

“Thirsty?” Hank remembered the drink pouches and reached into the cardboard box, careful not to squish Connor at the same time.

Connor took it once Hank took off the top and start to suck from it. He took the time to look at his computer, curious as to what he was looking at. It was a picture of an android girl, a child, toddler model, lying in a pool of thirium. She had a deep cut in her wrist that exposed her wires, and a bullet hole in her jaw. No exit wound. It can’t have been new, Connor recognised her as one he’d already read through. Perhaps it was for that reason he didn’t feel scared or disgusted seeing the photo, but if it had been a new and fresh image he might have thought differently. “Three days is a while. Isn’t that suspicious?” Connor asked between sucks, glancing up at Hank.

“A little. Hopeful would be a better word, or maybe our killer is struggling to find any because all the parents are worried sick and not taking their android children outside.” The arm around Connor tightened. “They hide their LEDs, but as you said the worst a human child can get is a cut on the wrist. Our killer never attacks more than one child in the same location at one time, so maybe they’ve had a dry spell.”

“Have people been telling the police if their child is injured?”

Hank paused. “Y’know what? Not very many do.. perhaps we should change that. If there’s any pattern to this monster’s attacks, getting more data would be a huge help. You found any patterns in your map yet, Connor?” He shook his head. “Maybe some are more focused than others, maybe some parks tend to have more android visitors. We ought to check this stuff out, and then the inevitable of checking the places out ourselves. Maybe someone younger than me should take you, so they actually look like a parent.”

“You could always be a grandparent.” Hank whacked Connor over the head a little too hard and the boy whined. “It’s the next step up!”

“Fuck you, kid.” Connor put a hand on the back of his head, feeling the sting. “It wasn’t that hard.” 

“Yeah it was..” His eyes got teary, but he just went quiet and finished off his drink.

He felt much more awake now, especially after being hit on the back of the head, so he got comfy and watched Hank work. He occasionally fiddled with the loose strands on the cuff of Hank’s jacket, but when Hank felt him playing around he flinched until he gave up trying. Connor was bored stiff, and he’d left his favourite coin in his old jacket, which was in a box along with his body back at Cyberlife. “Hank, I’m bored!”

“We’re at work, do some work.”

“I’m not at my desk.”

“Then go to your desk.”

Connor hugged Hank’s arm, nuzzling it with his cheek. “No.” Hank sighed, but he ruffled the boy’s hair. “I want my coin.”

Hank reached into his pocket and rummaged around, hearing the clink of coins in his pocket so he pulled them out. “I guess a quarter might be too big for your small hands, eh? Try a dime instead.” Connor took it, putting it between his knuckles and trying to move it along, but it fell straight to the floor; not because it was too big, but he couldn’t do it. “Heh, guess that didn’t transfer with the rest of ya.”

“What..” Connor struggled until Hank helped put him on the floor. “That’s not fair!” Connor immediately grabbed the coin and tried again, failing.

That kept him quiet. The coin was something he’d just always been able to do, they gave him the coin to fix an error where they couldn’t stop him fidgeting, but with the deviant issue of Daniel they needed to get him out of the warehouse on time so it was a temporary fix. Now, it seemed he actually had to learn the trick himself. It was a challenge, it was a task, a mission. It kept him occupied all day, so entertained by it that being picked up by Hank made him yelp and almost drop his coin, but he caught it between two fingers. Progress! “We really need to get you something else to fiddle with.”

“I don’t need things, Hank.” But that didn’t mean he didn’t _want_ them; the idea of owning things sounded fun, and things he could interact with too. 

Fowler wouldn’t be happy at the lack of work he did today, but it seemed the childish needs outweighed practicality while he was in the office. Connor turned and hugged Hank around the neck, mainly so he felt more secure about not being dropped. He held the coin in one hand and his dog toy in the other, head tucked under Hank’s chin. It made things awkward, Hank only had one hand to collect his belongings but that was basically his phone and his jacket that he took off earlier. Connor’s LED was pulsing a bright blue, silently overcome with joy that Hank seemed to be taking him home today. They hadn’t talked about it, but someone had carried the car seat to his car and Hank had secured him in without question; he knew the route to his house and that’s definitely where they were- Hank took a left instead of a right. What? Where were they going? Connor’s LED now went yellow, looking out the window and zooming in on street signs for any clue. “Where are we going?” He decided to ask.

“The supermarket. My house isn’t exactly the most child friendly.” Oh, back to blue. “You’re way to short to reach anything, and I can’t just put you to sleep on a dirty sofa with a cushion for a pillow, that’s just cruel.” 

_Like leaving me to sleep on a desk chair with just a dog toy kind of cruel?_ Connor thought, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He’d been to the supermarket before with Hank, mostly without him, but this was going to be a new experience. What kind of things did you buy for a child? Did the child get to choose? Connor had never wandered down that aisle, because neither he nor Hank ever needed anything from it. Plus, Hank probably still felt sour about Cole. 

When they arrived, Connor protested to being put in the seat of the trolley, claiming he could walk just fine. They’d barely taken five steps into the shop when Connor made a beeline for something, dodging past people who looked very annoyed about being cut off by a small child, their very embarrassed ‘parent’ following in tow. “Connor, what did I just say!?” Hank hissed, catching up and pulling Connor back by the arm. “I said you could walk as long as you stay by my side, but you run off not even one fucking minute through the door!”

It felt bad on his tongue to swear at him, but he had to remind himself that Connor was still mentally a 30 year old man.. mostly. The way he was ignoring Hank and staring at something down the aisle raised some doubts. “I know I know but look! I want that!” He pointed in the thing’s general direction. 

“Then walk calmly towards it or I’m putting you in the cart.” Sheesh, most kids begged to be put in the seat, of course Connor had to be the one exception to that.

Connor held Hank’s hand instead and pulled him towards the item of interest. It was little figurines, or dolls, coming in all different professions and scenarios. Connor wanted dolls? He had an imagination? “This one reminds me of you.” Connor picked a policeman off the shelf. “But you have longer hair and it’s grey. From looking in your database, you used to have your hair cut like this and it went grey at a young age, I couldn’t find anything from your teenage years.”

“Well in my day, you recorded moments with friends on cameras you probably haven’t heard of, Connor. Social media barely even existed by the time I’d already graduated high school. You can’t find pictures because there aren’t any. Just some very pixelated printed photos.. Back when Nikon was a good brand."

“I did find something called mySpace, the username was EdgeLord85-“

“That’s enough.” Hank snapped, trying to hide the flush of embarrassment in his cheeks.

That was his mySpace username, his first one, made way back in 2003 when it first launched. He and basically everyone in his high school got it so they could keep in contact after they graduated, but Hank barely talked to five of them and none of them transferred to MSN or Facebook in later years; Hank was too preoccupied with his police training, and Fowler was his new friend by that point. Times were different back then.. He had his pubescent years in the 90s, listening to music on cassette tapes and record players because his dad had been very retro, their house holding a 60s vibe until their inevitable retirement into a smaller house. He played outside, there were no screens for his face to be glued to. You wrote by hand, even calculators weren’t that advanced with the buttons that came with them, and no computers. That would probably fuck up Connor’s code if he told him that. Internet dial up was part of his later teens, flash games, the horrible invention of tumblr, and then.. memes. His 20s were a good decade, he enjoyed those years; technology soared and so many things came by. He still quoted vines to Connor, who missed every single reference. 

One time, at the Chicken Feed, a pair of teenagers ran by, clearly messing around. One ran ahead and hid in an alley, then when his friend came closer and he jumped out and scared them. Hank had chuckled and muttered, “almost made his friend drop his croissant.” Connor gave him the most confused expression Hank had ever seen him pull, so he just grinned and acted like what he said was totally normal.

Hank was pulled out of his nostalgia trip by a tug on his trouser leg. Connor was looking up at him, brown eyes wide. “So can I?” He asked.

“Huh?”

“Can I get one?”

Hank smiled. “Sure, get as many as you like.” 

Maybe it was just Hank’s imagination, or maybe Cyberlife implemented it, but he could’ve sworn Connor’s eyes sparkled before he enthusiastically turned back to the shelves and began scanning for whatever he was looking for. He kept the policeman, found an android one of an AP700, found a brown and white dog that was definitely not Sumo’s breed but it was close enough in shape, and then he managed to beg Hank for a car. 

It was nice for Connor not to pick some digital, that surprised Hank, or really what surprised him was that they still sold non-gadget toys. Connor then found some much smaller toys, or less toys than they were something to fidget with. He couldn’t reach so Hank offered him a few. Was he bored with the dime already? Connor liked the ones that were more like puzzles, so Hank got a box of those. “Are you sure?” Connor had asked, suddenly realising how childlike he had let himself become. “You don’t need to get all this for me…”

“Nonsense, you want them, I know you’ll actually play with them, so what’s the downside? This ain’t even what you need either, we still need to buy what other kids have.” Connor looked up at him. “Well you’re tiny, you need a stool for starters.”

Nobody had said it, but Connor did actually smell a little bit. Was it synthetic or did he actually have body odour? His manual said he needed washing, so Hank needed to get him kids shampoo and shit, then some more clothes to make it less blaringly obvious that he was an android, and anything else he might think of. Did Connor want books? Cole loved being read to, he’d sometimes stay up until Hank got home from work just so he could tell him stories of bad guys. 

Connor got ‘bored of walking’ and let himself be put in the chair. He actually loved it, the new height letting him look around properly. It was still shorter than before as Hank was a fair few inches above him, but it was better than staring at everybody’s crotches… maybe that’s why kids loved this seat so much. 

While Hank disappeared to get some fruit from across the area, Connor’s sensors picked up on a nearby conversation between a child in the same situation as him and their dad who was staring rather intently at bananas. “I know we’ll go home soon, but you know how fussy mummy is about her fruit.” Connor scanned the man, but nothing interesting came up.

“But daddy I’m bored!” He scanned the kid, a four year old, just like Connor was supposed to be. “Daddy I wanna go home.”

Is that how Connor was supposed to behave? It seemed very disruptive, but child behaviour had to be one of the few things Connor hadn’t scanned or researched into great detail yet. “I wanna go to the paaaark.” The child whined, kicking their legs around.

The park? Of course, lots of children went there. Connor could study them all a great detail there, maybe adopt their mannerisms. That’s what he did to blend in when he first met Hank, though apparently he was terrible at it, but he had to be better than others since his main feature was the ability to blend into any social environment. Hopefully that one got transferred over. Suddenly Hank blocked his vision and Connor’s LED flickered yellow, processing what he’d just been watching. “What are you thinking about staring off into space?” Hank teased, ruffling his hair again.

Connor wished he’d do something else to show his affection. “Hank.. how do you get a personality?”

“Of course you’re thinking of the deep stuff.. I don’t know, why does it matter?” Connor shook his head. “No? Done talking?”

“It was just a silly question.”

Hank tried a couple more times but Connor had completely changed his mind and no longer wanted to talk about it. Since the child part of their shopping was now over until they got to the clothes at the end, Connor watched other families as they walked past them, captivated by their interactions. He watched how the parents reacted to their kids talking, and while most seemed fairly distant, most of the children Connor’s ‘age’ seemed to be silent. Maybe this was a pivotal age to learn your surroundings, and all the visual input kept the toddler quiet (but the odd one out crying their eyes out changed his mind). He scanned everyone, and he even found a couple android children so he tried to talk to them, but nobody answered him. Did toddlers not have that ability? 

Occasionally Hank would ruffle his hair and break him from his thoughts, so Connor would whine and pat away at his hand until he left him alone. Was this affection? It felt almost playful whenever Hank did it, like he knew Connor got frustrated by it, but Connor started to enjoy the contact and he didn’t know if Hank knew he thought that… yeah that was right. “Alright, what do you wanna wear?” Hank asked. “And what size are you?”

“I’m a small.” Connor looked over all the clothes, scanning them out of curiosity and to find out which would be comfiest against his skin. “That!” He pointed to a blue t-shirt, a dark green t-rex on the front of it. “How much am I choosing?”

“Well, how long are you going to be a child for?”

“I don’t know. Fowler has yet to issue us to go out and try and get me taken, but it could be as soon as a couple days or I might be like this for weeks if I’m not a chosen target. Hopefully my LED won’t make the kidnapper know we’re tricking him by being so obvious, but I still haven’t found out if there’s a pattern to where he visits. I was going to do that today but.. I fell asleep.”

“Then just to be safe, you can pick four tops, then we’ll get you two pairs of jeans. It’s not warm enough for shorts anymore. Oh, and two pairs of shoes. You want to get out and choose?”

“Nah, I can’t reach from the floor.”

Hank had thought about going to an actual clothes shop, but Connor seemed happy with the choices available to him. He got some tops, Hank picked his jeans, Connor grabbed a raincoat when he wasn’t looking, then they bought shoes and a couple other essentials. He was quiet at the check out, slumping a little in his seat and not bothering to push Hank’s hand away when he ruffled his hair. A tap of his LED and Hank saw his batteries were low, so he was tired. He had only been half charged when he woke up from his nap, so he'd been running on low practically all day.

Armed with his dog toy and now an addition of the Hank-esque doll, he slept peacefully in his car seat. It had to be the first drive in years when Hank hadn’t put on any music, not even the radio, because he didn’t want to wake him up. His ears craved the sound of the Knights screaming against his eardrums, sending vibrations through his seat, the beat making his heart pound.. but he gave it up for some questionably blissful silence. Usually his brain would wander to places it shouldn’t, and every time it did he would turn his music up louder, but now just one look at Connor made him feel warm inside.

How could he have let him stay at the office overnight? He was lucky Gavin had a morning job, or anyone really. He’d apologised, twice, but it didn’t feel like enough so he let Connor buy a little more than he’d intended, more for his own benefit than Connor’s. Hopefully he would actually play with the toys, and be a kid.. Hank missed those days, he rather enjoyed the domestic life. He’d come home from a hard day at work full of worries and negativities, but at home would be an awaiting bundle of joy and a loving wife who had nothing but good things to say. It was his way to unwind, but after Cole’s death alcohol seemed like his only solace and it only got worse when his wife left. He didn’t blame her, she didn’t need his toxicity in her life. What was she up to these days..?

Arriving home, Hank carried the sleeping boy inside, but Sumo’s loud bark of happiness jolted the poor thing awake and he looked around in alarm. “Sumo!” He cried, reaching down for the dog. “It’s me, Connor!”

Sumo barked again, jumping up and managing to pat the boy’s legs with one of his paws, the other on Hank’s chest. Hank put him down, letting the dog lap at Connor’s face. He was laughing, kicking his legs around because of how much the dog’s tongue tickled; he grabbed gentle fistfuls of the fur and hugged the big dog, sitting up to put his arms around his neck. Dogs were so much better when you’re smaller than them! Connor was loving it, he could just be absorbed by this bundle of fur and he’d happily accept that as his fate. His hair stuck up on one side where Sumo had licked him, but since Connor loved the dog so much he didn’t care. The dog’s breath stank, his slobber was thick, fairly certain some of it still had biscuit chunks in it, but Connor pulled the dog down so he lay practically on top of him, able to tickle his belly with his feet. “Good boy!” Connor cried with glee, giggling at the sound of Sumo’s tail thwapping against the wooden floor. 

“Okay, now you definitely need a bath.” Hank kicked the front door shut, stepping over them to take the bags to the kitchen. “First, I’m fu- starving.” No, don’t swear in front children.

“Please have something healthy.” Connor commented, now trying to wriggle out from underneath the heavy dog. “Sumo, you’re starting to crush me.”

“Sumo, come!” Hank whistled, immediately grabbing the dog’s attention and he rolled off Connor before patting his way over to Hank’s side. “Good boy. Connor, do you need to have one of those drinks for dinner?”

Connor hesitated in answering, checking his vitals. “I think that would be a good idea.”

“Alright. Sit at the table, I’m just going to make a quick salad and then I’ll come join you.” Salads on Thursdays, the one day of the week Connor made him go vegan (they had vegetarian Monday too).

“Okay.”

Connor looked at Sumo who was nudging at his food bowl, so he grabbed the bag of dog food out the cupboard, but he wasn’t strong enough to pour it out anymore. This body really didn’t seem to have any perks; he was short, he wasn’t strong, he got easily traumatised by the very thing he was built not to be traumatised by, and he had to be reliant on adults around him which was the lowest blow to his ego.

He climbed into a chair at the table, choosing to kneel because his eyes were just above table level if he sat properly. Did they make lower down tables? Was that a thing? Probably. “I hate vegan Thursdays, the name isn’t as funny as it used to be, and yet I keep doing it.” Hank sighed, putting the pouch in front of Connor and sitting in his chair opposite, putting the down the rather unappetising salad. 

“I’m proud of you, Hank.” The older man stopped, fork halfway to his mouth. “It started with the vegetarian Mondays, then no drink Tuesday, and then I somehow made you go vegan today, and you’re actually doing it! You have more self control than you think.”

It felt oddly heart-warming coming from a child, especially one with half his hair sticking up because of the famous hair gel known as dog slobber. “Thanks, kid. I’ll admit I broke it a lot while you were in that box. I think you are my self control.” Connor’s head titled to the side. “Just have your drink, let me stomach down these.. leaves.”

Having dinner together was nice. Connor felt more human being able to have something, and while he’d skip ‘lunch’ he could have two meals at home with Hank and it felt.. no, he couldn’t be feeling like that already. Well- maybe; he’d felt it as an adult because Hank was teaching him the proper human mannerisms rather than what Cyberlife had programmed him to think was correct, and that’s.. that’s what fathers do. 

Connor was unknowingly looking at him, the only reason for blinking being that he was programmed to at certain intervals. There was a look in his eyes, one of awe and admiration. Hank was such an intriguing person, there was always something new to learn about him and it added to the many layers of personality, always a piece of the puzzle missing. “What are you looking at?” Hank asked, enjoying the soft expression but also unnerved by the silence.

“You’re cool.” _That’s the best I could come up with?_ Connor thought, thinking his choice of words were a little simplistic.

“Uh-okay?” 

He looked away after that, looking around the house instead. Did Hank have a spare mattress for him? He wondered where Cole slept, because there were no spare rooms, or maybe he moved out of wherever he’d lived before to get away from it all. Connor would happily sleep on the sofa, Hank did it many times so for someone half his size it was probably quite comfortable. Maybe he’d sleep with Hank! That would be nice..

Pouch finished, Hank’s stomach growling at the lack of junk food, dinner was over. Apparently it was bath time now, and except for getting into a tub full of water Connor didn’t really know what he was getting in for. Sure, washing and all that, but Hank seemed strangely eager about the whole thing. “You going to be alright on your own?” Hank asked, starting to fill it up and pour in a load of bubble soap. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Connor wasn’t 100% currently comfortable with undressing in front of Hank, but then again he had been held above a toilet to pee by Gavin of all people. “Is it difficult?”

“I don’t know, some kids want to be on their own at your age, but I know a couple of my old mates had their kids like their parents company or needed help until they were almost 10. Wondered what Cyberlife programmed you with.”

“Why don’t I start alone and if I need or want you then I can call for you?” Connor really didn’t see why he would need Hank, it was just a matter of rubbing his hair and body with liquid, but with all the bubbles he probably just needed to stay underwater for a couple minutes and he’d be clean.

“Sure.” Hank dipped his hand in to test the water, then stood back up and wiped his hand on his trousers. “Feels good to me, go ahead Connor I’ll leave you to it.”

Hank left, leaving the door slightly ajar so he could hear Connor shout if he needed anything. It was weird.. undressing. To Connor’s memory, he’d never actually had to take his clothes off before; if he died, he woke up in a new body already dressed, and except for that he just stayed in the one outfit. Well, okay, when he dressed up as a deviant, but that was just a change of jacket and a beanie. 

Deviancy.. the whole problem had plagued his mind for months, he went into a state of depression similar to Hank’s as he tried to find his own self worth while on the run from Cyberlife who wanted to deactivate him while no android laws were in place. Now he still had thoughts about it, but right now he was filled with thoughts of becoming and staying a child, wondering if he’d lose his old mature self if he stayed young too long. Not something a four year old should consider while in a bubble bath, but maybe that meant Connor was still mature on the inside. Kids didn’t have existential doubts, adults did as they began to realise their own mortality, even androids. Connor was certain he wasn’t meant to feel these things, he should be positive like Markus, but maybe being around Hank wasn’t the best of ideas.. but he liked him. A lot. 

Connor huffed, his breath pushing some of the bubbles away. He picked up a handful, surprised that they stayed together. Would they… he pressed some against his cheek, waiting for them to fall off but a majority stuck to his face. Hey, these bubbles were white, that could be a substitute for grey.

Hank could hear laughter and giggling from the bathroom. It was such an innocent sound, childish play, and he wondered what on earth Connor had discovered that made him so happy. “Hank!” Connor called, following by a quiet giggle. “Hank!”

“I’m coming!” Hank grabbed his phone, just in case there was a photo opportunity. “What have you been-“

He paused. Connor had got himself completely covered in bubbles; his hair looked like an afro, he had a long beard, and whenever he brought his arms out the water they stuck there as well. “I’m you!” Connor cried, lathering more bubbles onto his chest, presumably for chest hair. 

Hank burst out laughing. He leant against the doorframe for support, fumbling in his pocket for his phone but whenever he thought he might be calming down, he took one look at Connor and was off again. The bubbles were slowly falling off, so now one of Connor’s eyes was hidden by bubbles until he pushed them back up.   
“Hold on- hold on-“ Hank wheezed, holding up his phone to take a photo. “Strike a pose, Connor.”

Connor clasped his hands together in the shape of a gun, aiming at Hank. He tried looking serious but he couldn’t keep a straight face and gave the camera a toothy grin. Hank kept chuckling even after he took it, kneeling beside the bathtub and rubbing the bubbles into Connor’s skin. Connor hadn’t asked for help, he was doing fine just playing around as a method of getting clean, but Hank’s grin made him keep quiet.

He actually quite liked it. Hank’s rough hands ruffing up his hair with shampoo and then failing to pour much water over his head to rinse it out and ended up just pushing Connor underwater (after asking permission to do that first). It was fun, and Connor wanted to just roll around in mud so they could do it again.   
Eight o clock, apparently bed time, but Connor wasn’t that tired. They watched TV together in their pyjamas, a mindless game show from a few years ago that Connor didn’t know. He relaxed, wrapped up in the duvet Hank bought him and was tucked under his arm, cheek squished against his side. It was comfy, warm, and especially safe. No matter what, as long as Connor could be in Hank’s arms, he knew everything would end up okay. The thoughts of Hank lulled him off to sleep, his body becoming a little heavier as he fully relaxed against Hank.

Hank moved slowly, keeping Connor’s head supported until Hank had moved and put two pillows underneath and he nuzzled into them. “Goodnight, Connor.” Hank stroked back some of his hair and kissed his temple, beside his LED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to split this in two but I couldn't find anywhere to split it so I hope you enjoyed some dad Hank being a big softy! I'll see you guys on friday <3
> 
> Shameless plug (is that a thing outside of youtube? Ah well) Come find me on tumblr! It's basically a Connor trash dump at this point with memes and Tom Holland thrown in.. https://www.tumblr.com/blog/fizzabel


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another murder and Connor has a small tantrum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little filler-y, it's more plot progression than anything :S

“I guess we spoke a bit too soon about the killer being on a dry streak.” Hank grumbled, putting the keys in ignition.

“Mhm.” Connor was half asleep in his car seat, using his dog toy as a pillow.

This was a 6am call, and Hank was only awake because he’d gotten up earlier for a drink of water but couldn’t get back to sleep. These changes in his eating habits and drinking were really messing with his body cycle… or maybe he was just getting old. Connor told him about the case before he knew anyways, hearing a quiet (and rather pathetic) "Hank?" From the sofa where he'd been sleeping before the buzz of a report woke him. “Apparently there’s three of them, so maybe he’s starting to stock them up.”

“Could be siblings…” Connor closed his eyes, slouching in his seat and letting out a soft sigh. “I wanna go back to bed.”

Since sleep seemed to be a crucial thing in order for the toddler model to function, he was finding it a lot more difficult than Hank to wake up. He was mostly charged, he’d functioned on less, but apparently he was running a diagnostic which was the equal of a human’s deep sleep state, which was the worst part in a sleep cycle to wake someone. “I know you do, but if we finish up quickly you might be able to get some sleep before work starts. If not, you can sleep in my lap again.”

It was beginning to drizzle when they arrived, so Hank put Connor in his green raincoat before carrying him towards the crime scene. “You sure about this? I don’t want you getting traumatised like last time.” Hank stopped before the bodies came into view, but a couple other officers were scattered around.

“I think I’ll be okay. I need to see what I’m going to prevent.. this is my first time seeing one of these cases in person.”

“If you get scared or anything, just let me know, okay?” Hank kissed his cheek before putting him down, opting for holding his hand instead. “I don’t want you being that scared again, I don’t think my heart can take it.”

“Then you best prepare for when I get kidnapped-“

“If you get kidnapped.” Connor only huffed.

Ben came over to them, saying hello to the both of them before briefing them on what they’d already discovered. Three children, all in a different pose. Same signs though, a slit wrist, a bullet through the head and a small incision in their temple where their trackers had been removed and replaced; so it had to be the same killer, or someone who was doing a very good job of pretending to be them. The mystery was why three? It had always been individual killings, one at a time, and usually in haphazard positions as if they were shot dead and left lying where they fell. Connor would’ve been able to tell with his reconstruction ability, but somebody just had to be in a coma during literally every investigation up until now.

He left Hank to hear the rest of it, not usually finding much help in the briefings anyway as they were simply backstory, or an extended and rambled version of “we have no idea”.

They were lying in a line together, side by side. The first one had their hands to their ears, the second covered their eyes, and the third covered their mouth. Connor tilted his head and scanned the immediate area, looking for some kind of print. It was fairly muddy, there should be something there at least, but unfortunately the officers had all been trampling through it so the only prints he could see were his own, made by his dark blue wellies.

Looking back at the scene, he scanned the bodies. No fingerprints this time; they were getting better at this, and that wasn’t a good thing because it meant the evidence was getting thinner with every death. The least Connor could do was find something out about them…

He crouched and licked at the thirium, surprised to find that his sibling theory was correct. They all had the same activation date, 3rd August, similar to Connor’s own; they were even the same YK500 model which made a change from all the YK300s they’d been discovering, but their different hair colours is what told them apart. “Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil?” Hank spoke from behind, resting his hand on Connor’s head. “That’s an unusual choice of arrangement and rather pointless if you ask me.”

“What does it mean?”

“What, the evil stuff? Ah, it’s just a fancy way of saying be a good person. Load of bullshit.”

“Well it must mean something. None of the others were done like this, and none of the other cases had multiple bodies in the same place. They wouldn’t just decide to pick triplets on purpose, they had to target them or at least know they’re triplets.”

“How d’y’know they’re triplets? Sure they look the same-“

Alfie,” Connor pointed at the one on the left, “Louis,” middle, “Peter,” and the right. “All the same date of activation, and their assigned surnames are all ‘Kenton’. Their mother is called Rachel Kenton. Technically their owner, but in child models they are called parents, and the ones who own them automatically have their surname handed down.”

“So what’s your surname?” Connor looked up at him. “Your previous body was owned by Cyberlife, what about this one? Are you Connor Cyberlife?”

His LED flickered yellow and he looked away, stepping out of Hank’s touch. “I.. I don’t have one. Nobody gave me one.” His hands tightened into little fists, but he uncurled them and went to investigate somewhere else in order to avoid the situation.

He ran the analysis, twice, but his information said he was Connor. Just Connor. Owner? Nobody. He couldn’t even have the company name for a surname, he was nobody. Hank was his current carer, he lived with him.. that was close enough to practically being his ‘owner’, because they’d changed that before in his old model though there had been no need for a surname. Calling Hank a parent sounded so much more intimate than an owner, so bringing up the suggestion seemed a bit risky. Connor Anderson.. it had a nice ring to it, he’d like to have Hank’s name in his system, telling him he belonged, but.. Hank probably didn’t feel the same way.

To ease the tension Hank tried to ask what Connor had found, but he grumbled a response about nothing concrete and continued scanning the bodies for any evidence of harm or struggle. His childish irritability was starting to show, getting frustrated with himself as he couldn’t find anything useful. There was nothing. Hank seemed to be getting bored, leaning against the brick wall and just watching Connor do whatever he was doing. He started to poke at them, the contact causing both the androids to retract their skin. What was that boy looking for? Damage to their plastic?

Connor went to pick up their hands but Hank rushed forward before he could and covered his eyes. “Hank!” Connor cried, dropping the hand.

“You don’t want to be doing that, Con. He’s uh.. he’s missing his eyes. The others their ears and mouth.. You don’t want to see that.” Hank quickly put the hand back where it was and let Connor go. “At least not without preparing yourself for it.”

“I can handle it.” Connor grumbled, pushing his hand off and going back to pull the hands away, hiding a flinch when he saw the eyes were indeed gone, only the circuitry behind the optic units remained. The ears and mouth were less disturbing, but Connor was surprised you could actually remove the mouth in the first place. His certainly wasn’t just a component…

Hank groaned when Connor knelt on the ground, thirium and dirt seeping into his trousers. His adult self wouldn’t have been so dismissive of cleanliness. Hank didn’t bring a spare pair, Connor would have to be dirty all day now. Not that Connor cared, he was looking at the jaggedness on their face; there was no way a mouth unit would be made that shape, Cyberlife made everything in simplistic shapes that were easier to create and replace.. “YK500s don’t have a mouth unit. In fact, no models do.” Connor stated, looking for prints but coming up empty. “Whoever killed these androids cut the mouth out.”

“Okay, and what does that prove?”

Connor hesitated. “Nothing, I guess..” Great, just when he thought he might’ve got something it’s a dead end, and clearly Hank wasn’t afraid of telling him that. “Just an observation. The killer must be stubborn, because why bother going to such an extent to give off your message? The hand gestures were clearly enough for you to know what he meant; but why would a child murderer want to give off the message ‘be a good person’? Seems rather con.. con-t-t..”

“Contradictory?”

“Yeah, that.” Connor huffed.

This toddler code was really starting to get on his nerves. Sure there were upsides, like being looked after by Hank, seeing the world in more vibrant colours, and Reed was less of a dick; but his speech was going, he felt pain, he got easily scared by the exact thing he was created to not be afraid of, and now his speech was deteriorating! How was he meant to be a detective when he couldn’t pronounce his own opinions?

He got up, looking down at the mess on his trousers, feeling the wet patches stick to his skin. “C’mere, let’s try and get some of that off.”

Hank stood him against the wall and crouched down, rubbing at the larger chunks of dirt to get them off. He couldn’t dry them out and the thirium would eventually fade, but Connor’s legs were definitely going to be stained brown once it dried. “At least it’s only your clothes, I’ll put them in the washing machine tonight.” Hank checked his watch. “Looks like we’ll actually arrive slightly early for work. Can’t remember the last time I did that.” Hank stood up and ruffled Connor’s hair. “You done here, kid?”

He noticed Connor looking back at the body with no eyes so he subtly stepped to the side to block his view. “Y-yeah.. No prints as usual. Almost makes you wonder if an android is involved.”

“Unlikely, we found human fingerprints at the other scenes, but we couldn’t decipher anything clear. Either this was a copycat android, or they’re actually wearing gloves for once. Is the weapon the same?”

“Yes. 9mm semi automatic pistol. No bullets nearby either."

“Well there you go. Come on, we need to start processing the paperwork for this.”

~*~

Connor had been given an electronic noticeboard. He’d been working on the map all afternoon, the computer screen being too small so he got something much bigger in return. He was grateful that he could simply control it with his eyes, because even with two chairs stacked together he probably wouldn’t reach the top of the board. It did mean he was sat on the floor holding a dog toy and staring blankly at a screen. Clearly his blinking function wasn’t turned on when he was focusing. “Hey, dinnertime.” Connor looked over his shoulder, seeing Hank behind him and slipping on a jacket. “I got up at stupid o’clock today and it’s not one of your healthy days so I’m getting some damn junk food.”

“You have consumed a lot of caffeine today Hank, so please try to avoid a too heavily caffeinated drink.” Oh, so his vocabulary decided to work when he was scolding Hank?

Hank rolled his eyes. “Whatever, let me eat badly for once.” He bent down to pick Connor up but the boy whined and thrashed a little to be let go. “What? It’s time to go home, aren’t you thirsty?”

“I’m _working!_ ” Connor whacked at Hank’s arm, but he didn’t have much strength anymore. “ _Let me go!_ I’m working!”

“You can continue working tomorrow, I’m not leaving you overnight again and I’m not staying any longer because I’m starving.”

Hank became slightly grateful Connor was the size he was rather than the older YK500 because he could ignore his kicking much easier; if he was any bigger Hank was certain he’d get a kick to the crotch. “No! I want to stay!” Connor’s voice was rising in volume, whining to be let go. “I’m getting somewhere!”

“Well you can get somewhere in the morning.”

“This isn’t fair!” Connor screamed, making Hank wince. "Put me down right this instant!"

Great, a tantrum. Hank always thought being silent was the best way of treating them, because he knew it tended to work a lot better than yelling at a kid. That just gave the poor things fear of loud noises and tended to provoke more reactions by the kids screaming louder back at you; so he let Connor bash at his back with his fists after he’d slung him over one shoulder, trying to calmly walk out the office.. with everyone staring at them.

Reception was strangely busy for the time of the evening, so Hank stopped before they came into view and put Connor back down, holding him firmly by the shoulders. “Connor, _zip it!_ You’re being an embarrassment right now and if this silly behaviour continues then I’ll take away Pippin.” Pippin was what Connor had named his dog plush. “I won’t let you sleep with him tonight. Do you want that?”

Connor still looked angry, cheeks puffed out and he was pouting. “Don’t look at me like that. Screaming in public is extremely antisocial, and working yourself silly isn’t going to help the case you’ll just end up making mistakes. Got it?” Silence, Connor wouldn’t look at him. “ _Got it?_ ”

His LED whirled yellow, starting to consider Hank as some authority as well as his carer. He’d seen Hank angry before, and it was mostly filled with swearing and yelling, but this stern side of him that kept calm was starting to get under Connor’s skin. “Got it.” He grumbled, whacking Hank’s hand when he tried to hold his.

“Now _behave_. If you want to keep fussing, then wait until we’re in the car. I don't want to hear a single peep out of you until we get there.”

Connor was stomping behind him, trying to make as much noise as he could without getting another telling off. Hank was simply annoyed, he’d dealt with worse tantrums and Connor seemed to be fairly compliant with the calm treatment. Thank god. If he was starting to have tantrums, hopefully he wasn’t going to start developing more of them. There were other aspects Connor still hadn’t shown, mostly in his speech, but there had been a distinct lack of ‘lieutenant’. Was he starting to degrade? Was he going to lose the original Connor eventually..?

The thought worried Hank, glancing at Connor in the car mirror during their ride home. Connor had his arms tightly folded, his knees tucked up and he was looking out the window with that same angry pout. Jazz music played quietly, because most of Hank's heavy metal was filled with far too much swearing, though if he really wanted he could find an album without any, but Hank tended to like the ones that swore. “Connor, can I ask you something?” He got a side glance, so Connor clearly wasn’t up for talking. “It’s a genuine question, so I’d like you to answer please.”

He got a sigh. “What?”

“You said your old code was dominant in you when you arrived. Does that mean this new code might take over? Will your mannerisms become more and more childlike as time goes on? I just need to know what I’m getting into.”

Connor tightened his folded arms. “Ask Cyberlife.”

“But I want to ask you instead.”

“Too bad.”

Great, now it was sarcasm. There was no point in arguing with a four year old, nobody ever won those. Hank might have to create a time out at work for god’s sake, where would that even be? The breakroom? An empty room? Gavin’s desk? If Connor was going to turn into a problem child he’d have to think of things for discipline; his old self was certainly stubborn above all else, always asking for more time with things, so that trait probably wasn’t going anywhere.

It meant Hank was definitely bringing an actual toddler to work everyday, to crime scenes that made even Hank want to hurl. Fowler probably wasn’t aware of it yet since Connor was still very focused on their case but if Hank knew anything about small children, it was that they needed lots of stimuli, and Connor would get bored sooner or later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I kinda maybe drew Connor in his raincoat.. I saw the stock photo that I used for reference while roaming for something else and was just like !!! Must draw!!! (Sorry it's massive idk how to shrink it yet and I'm too lazy to look it up)
> 
>  


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor thinks they're just going to Cyberlife to get him some supplies but Hank has a different motive (it's less ominous than it sounds)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was meant be half a chapter so ~~oops~~

As long as nobody got murdered, Hank and Connor got the weekend off. Fowler suggested he take Connor out to the park or something, maybe get him in the killer’s radar. Hank had other plans, they were going to Cyberlife; half to get Connor more drinking pouches, and half to discuss his mental state. Hank had gotten himself overly worried about how much Connor was left in toddler Connor, and if transferring back at the end of this mission – if he even survived it – would change him for good.

Once Connor caught on that they were going to Cyberlife he started to protest, saying he couldn’t change back, and then quickly changing it to “I hate it there!” when Hank told him why they were actually going. He left out the whole worry part, so Connor just thought he’d been pulled along on a supply run so he practically begged to stay in the car but Hank pulled him out almost kicking and screaming. He even whacked Hank with his stuffed dog, yelling to be put down or he'd force his way down. It was an empty threat, he was four years old and apparently still thought he had the strength of a 6ft police android; so Hank gave him a scolding and threatened to take much longer than they needed in Cyberlife if Connor didn't start cooperating.

They compromised on Connor not having to talk to anyone or having to look at them if he could avoid it, and Hank would be as quick as needed without seeming like they were rushing around. Connor wasn't happy because he still had to go inside, but Hank was already forcing him to walk away from the car and he gave up by the time they reached the front door, admitting defeat. 

It had been a good while, coming up to a year now since the whole revolution, the city still in a bit of chaos but it was getting organised by this point. Connor had never mentioned Cyberlife until he got that pole in his back, he’d avoided the topic and wasn’t keen on ever talking to Hank about it. Except for switching bodies almost a week ago, Connor hadn’t visited the tower once.

He carried him, Connor putting his face in Hank’s neck so he didn’t have to look around. “You were here not long ago Con, what are you so scared of?”

“I’m scared they’re going to hurt me.. They don’t like me here.”

“I guess that’s fair enough considering.. But everyone loves you like this, you’re too cute to ignore.” Connor blushed, but he stayed where he was in Hank’s neck. “We won’t be long, I just need to get you some more pouches, otherwise you’ll get a fever and that won’t be very good for either of us.”

Inside looked completely different to how Hank remembered it. He last came to try and help Connor, only to be captured and held at gun point so he didn’t have particularly fond memories either, but instead of a white pristine reception, it was covered in colour and.. overrun by children?

There were a couple adverts saying what features were in their new YK300, and a baby model was going to be introduced soon, but apart from that most of the reception was now play areas or signs leading to various other areas. There was still a reception desk tucked away, so Hank headed over there. “Hi, I’m here to see Paula?”

Connor frowned up at him. The shops for his model and accessories were across the hall and up a couple floors, why did they need to see anyone about it? He’d already scanned every sign and a few children when he'd stuck his head up to investigate the loud noises going on. “Hank, up!” Connor whined, trying to stand up but he had nothing to stand on. “Let me up!”

“Connor what are you asking for?” Hank grumbled. “Speak proper English.”

“I want to stand up!” Hank simply lifted Connor higher and then moved him around until he was sat on his shoulders. “Thanks.”

He wanted to see what the other children were doing. Some of them were actually human, but they still enjoyed playing with the androids it seemed. Connor was studying their behaviour, wondering if he should be acting like them. They seemed a lot more.. energetic. Connor sometimes felt like running around too, but he’d resisted those urges in place of being responsible in the workplace, and he began to wonder if that was the wrong thing to do. He looked the part of a toddler, and sometimes he let his urges come through like when he played with bubbles at bath time or gave Sumo lots of belly rubs, but maybe it wasn’t enough. He knew his programming was taking over, he couldn’t say a few words anymore and these urges were becoming a lot more common. Was that bad? He couldn’t keep working if he gave into every single one, so maybe he wasn’t supposed to, or was he?

Connor whined, loudly. He was having too many thoughts at once, too many things were coming at him. It was so confusing, he couldn’t understand why it was happening, he didn’t know how to deal with it- so he cried. He hunched over and clutched to Hank’s chin, sobbing into his hair. “Woah woah! Hey what’s the matter?” Hank pulled him off and put him on the ground. “Connor what’s the matter?”

He just shook his head and kept on crying, trying to hide in Hank’s jacket to block out all the sounds and lights. His sobs got louder and people were beginning to look, so the receptionist offered a room off to the side that were quieter, a couple of them empty while Cyberlife decided what to do with them.

It felt like someone was trying to rip his head apart. He couldn't stop thinking about the right thing to do, comparing himself to literally every child in the room. Their cries were too loud, the lights were turned up far too bright, he felt the itchiness of his shirt rub against his skin and he just wanted to rip the thing off. He would if he could just undo the buttons but he couldn't do them anymore! Why couldn't he do them anymore!? Could everyone else do them? Probably, it's because he was so different! His hearing shouldn't be this sensitive, his eyes shouldn't be so affected by the lights; yes he was a child, but he blamed his old sensors. It was too much for his body, it was what he felt before only pushed to the max. He just wanted it all to go away!

Hank gently pulled Connor into an empty room and he already began to calm down once Hank had closed the door; mostly soundproof. Connor sat down against the wall and tucked up his knees, wrapping his arms around them. He whimpered into them, trying to tuck himself into as small a shape as possible. “Hey, what’s the matter?” Hank asked, kneeling in front of him and getting a tissue out his pocket. “What made you so upset?” Connor was trembling.

He gently pulled his head back up and wiped at Connor’s cheeks, getting rid of the tears. “I.. it.. it was scary out there.”

“Scary? Was it just being back at Cyberlife?” He shook his head. “The other children? Were they too noisy?”

“I don’t know.. I just.. I don’t know!”

“Give it a try, Con.”

“I-I don’t know the word anymore! I was getting a lot of input. Everyone was talking and running around and they’re all really different to me so I was processing it-“

“You were overwhelmed?”

“Yeah! Yeah that word. Just..” Connor’s LED was already yellow but it whirled red for a moment, his expression showing fear. “I don’t know..” He'd felt lost before when the revolution happened, but it felt amplified now due to his lack of processors.

Hank ruffled his hair to try and cheer him up, but it didn’t do much. Connor simply looked confused, as if all his thoughts were in another language that he hadn’t been given the ability to learn. He probably would’ve sat and thought about it all afternoon had there not been a knock at the door. It was Paula, greeting Hank with a handshake and a much gentler one with Connor.

Connor was offered to stay and play with the others, but as a response he clung to Hank like a monkey until he was held properly, facing his chest so he couldn’t see all the other children. “Is Connor alright?” Paula asked. “Louisa said that he started to cry so you came into one of our empty rooms to calm him down.”

“Yeah he’ll be fine, just a little overwhelmed by all the kids-“ One screamed, only further proving his point. “He’s never been around other ones his age before, or at least in this scenario. He’s passed them when we’re walking around but I haven’t taken him to the park or anything.” Connor muttered something about making everyone go away.

“Why ever not?”

“Well we’re both at work all day and so far we’re not having to go in today. Police don’t get days off unless they’ve applied for holiday or some kind of leave, we work everyday around the clock if it calls for it. I’m here because I want that to change.”

Connor looked up at him, confused again. “Alright. Well, we can get Connor hooked up to our computers and we’ll take a look at his programming.” Connor’s grip tightened on Hank’s shirt, trying to speak but he was interrupted. “What kind of change are you wanting to make?”

“I’d like to wait before we talk about that.”

Paula looked at the frightened toddler and gave him a reassuring smile, then looked at Hank. “Of course.”

They went into a lift and came off at the tenth floor, appearing in a hallway that branched into different hallways that were lined with doors on either side. Paula lead them to the far left, then through a door about halfway down. It looked like an office if you ignored the oddly placed bits of equipment around the room. Wires were everywhere, it was rather disorganised. “Please do ignore the mess. I apologise but we had a few prototypes of a secret project in here earlier to test their interactions, usually there’s only one set of Readers in here.”

Hank sat down in a chair, holding Connor in his lap, a little too tightly. Connor squirmed, but he was firmly stuck in Hank’s arms. “Connor..” Hank spoke, looking down at him. “You’re going to have a little nap, is that alright?”

“I’m scared.” Connor murmured, looking at Paula and then back to Hank. “What’s going on?” He'd thought maybe they were going somewhere quieter to pick up his pouches, but Hank was acting of the ordinary and Paula was refusing to look at him. 

He felt awful not telling him, they were only here for Hank’s somewhat selfishness, but he reluctantly pressed two fingers against Connor’s neck and a panel opened up. He pressed a button, and Connor’s body sagged back, eyes fluttering shut. Paula got to work on Connor’s head, his hair disappearing and most of his skin disappeared until a panel popped up and Paula removed it, his synthetic skin now returning to the edges of the gap. Now Connor just looked bald with a hole in his head.

She gently pulled up a box and inserted to wires into available ports before putting it back. The other ends were plugged into her computer and Connor’s body jolted, as if shocked with electricity. “What are you doing to him?” Hank hissed, cradling what was left of the back of Connor’s head. "If you're hurting him then we're leaving."

“Sorry, that was just because I connected him and the transformer inside the cables hadn’t kicked in so it.. kind of kicked him instead. Ah! Okay, so Connor really does have two forms or programming inside of him. Fascinating... no wonder the poor thing is so antsy. Now why are you here, lieutenant? You are aware that the YK300’s coding is slowly taking over, don’t you?”

“Yeah I was.. hoping to change that.”

“You want to get rid of the RK800 programs? He’ll be just like a YK300 only with the abilities of a detective. You want to speed up the process?”

“Reverse, actually. I get it, toddlers are sensitive and learning bla bla bla, but Connor needs to be a detective. He switched over to catch a killer, not be an actual child. The sooner we catch the killer the better because I’m sure you’re aware of all the android children being murdered and the most recent one was pretty brutal. First case he went to the day he arrived at the office, a woman had her brains all over the floor and Connor watched her android commit suicide. They’re scarring poor Connor, and he can’t think straight. With what little evidence there is to collect even by android standards we need Connor to be in what top shape he can.

“Plus, if he’s not level headed if and when he does get kidnapped, the whole plan of this will end up being a disaster and.. Connor will be dead. None of these kids can be reactivated, and Connor won’t be any different if he’s caught. We’re not hiding his LED on purpose, we’re going out tomorrow but then it’s straight back to work so we’re giving him all the exposure we can, but it’s not fast enough. He’s deteriorating.”

“Well.. I’m sorry lieutenant, but we can’t simply reverse what’s already happened. The way this works is that the two programs intertwine as he develops and experiences day to day things from a new perspective, so everything he learns now like.. let’s say going for a walk, is new information and that gets stored, so his new memories since transferring are going to be 100% toddler perspective. Taking him to crime scenes with dead children that look just like him or covered in their own blood certainly isn’t helping the process either, that’s definitely making things worse. It would take us days to try and separate the two, and it will be more harm than its worth. We can help the process go ahead so his behaviour will change, but there’s no going backwards without putting him back in the RK800, which of course isn’t really an option.”

“But his behaviour is getting worse! It’s only little things but he’s restless, he doesn’t like being taken from his interests or toys, it’s-“

“-like he’s a toddler?” Hank shut his mouth.” Lieutenant, you don’t seem to understand the situation. Just because he’s an android doesn’t mean he’s any less of a toddler than a human child, that's practically Cyberlife's entire goal. If you don’t like his behaviour, then you have to discipline him. If you don’t want that task, we can assign an AX400 model to take him out for you. You can continue your investigation while Connor learns to be a child and become… ready, for kidnapping. If you don’t want to take care of him because you can’t face facts, then so be it, we have other arrangements.”

Hank huffed. He knew she was testing him, testing his already made bond with Connor. He’d tried to keep it professional and tell her why reversing the effects would benefit the case and get Connor back to normal sooner, but she’d seen through him the moment he walked through the door. “Why are you so afraid of attachment, lieutenant?” There it was, there was the question. “We know all about you, through our own research or through Connor’s memories.”

“I don’t need to tell you anything. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”

“You don’t want Connor to die.”

“Of course I don’t want him to fucking die! He’s-“ Hank caught himself, clearing his throat. “I lost my son, my wife left me, my mother died while I was still in my thirties, and I lost all my friends when I drowned in alcoholism.” All but one; Fowler was never a friend to go crying to, but Hank had lost count of all the times he got him out of stupid situations that would’ve cost him his badge by now. “If.. If I lose Connor too, I think it might be the final straw. He got me out of what mess I created of myself, but if he goes too then I’m not getting out again.”

“Protect him.” Hank glared at her, as if she were saying that he hadn’t protected Cole. “W-what I mean is, if you create a close enough bond like a.. family?” She was testing the word, but she got no reaction. “Connor will listen to you more. The second tracker in his leg makes him different from all the other children getting kidnapped. If you talk to Connor- since we also enabled him to communicate ‘telepathically’ as you call it, then you can help calm him down if he panics. If he doesn’t trust you enough, then I fear the outcome. Since kidnapping is inevitable, as much as it will hurt you lieutenant, you have to make a tight bond with Connor. Be attached.”

“I already am, that’s why it’s safer for him to revert to his older self.”

“We both know that I can’t do that. Connor’s memories here show he’s afraid of what’s to come, but he’s still going with it and overcoming his fears for the good of everybody else. You should do the same. Take care of him, give him the childhood he never had while you still can. After all, his first birthday was only a couple months ago."

Paula stood up from her desk and began to take out the cables, indicating they were done. “I still need more of that drink stuff.” Hank grumbled, moving Connor to hold him against his chest once has was back in one piece.

“Louisa has a box for you at reception.”

“..Thanks.”

Hank couldn’t get out of there quick enough, struggling to carry the cardboard box in one arm and keep Connor asleep in the other. His mind was racing with thoughts he hadn’t had in a long time, and the care he felt for Connor worried him deeply. He had to take care of him, there was no other way, and his aching heart probably wouldn’t let him do anything different either. He'd tried to be stern, but since Connor gave him puppy eyes after staying at the DPD overnight he hadn't been able to be mad at him since. Not like before, at least, Connor was too curious for his own good but now it was more cute than aggravating. 

It may not have even been a week yet; heck, they hadn’t done anything except work but.. Hank couldn’t bare to lose him. He stroked back Connor’s hair and kissed his forehead once he was in the car, trying to be quiet with each strap clicking into place. “I love you, son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hank: I love you, Con  
> Connor: What did you say Hank?  
> Hank: I-I said I loathe you!!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter <3


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and fluff and argue and fluff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise to anyone reading on desktop because this looks so bloody short oh my god

Hank helped Connor to do up the zip of his jacket, then carefully place his new beanie on his head so that the LED was hidden. “Why are we hiding it? Aren’t I supposed to give off loads of hints?”

“I just thought it would be nice to have a day or two being safe. Let you ease into being a kid without putting you at risk. You enjoying yourself so far?”

Connor blushed, his cheeks turning pale blue. “Y-yeah I guess.. It seems this age is a vital part of a human’s life, and they get lots of guidance from parental figures, so I’m enjoying the experience.. also children seem to be expected to do far less, a-and I really appreciate the lack of stress.” He thought about yesterday, the random gap in his memories and all the cuddles he had with Hank in the evening. “I think I’m going to look forward to being around others.”

“You show a lot more emotion like this, Con, and I appreciate the change. Feels more homely having you bouncing around; but just for today, you’re going to be a human. Keep you safe.” Hank tucked some of Connor’s fringe under his hat then smiled at the boy.

“Thanks.” Connor smiled back.

Earlier on, Hank had asked where Connor wanted to go and he’d requested the park before Hank could even finish his question. He didn’t give much of an explanation, but Hank didn’t ask for one. He started out holding his hand, but Connor quickly got distracted by all the pigeons and squirrels. As long as he stayed in his line of sight, Hank didn’t mind what the boy did. He didn’t have to pretend he wanted him gone just yet.

They'd brought Sumo along, acting as his second walk of the day. Connor had whined about wanting to walk him, but before they’d even got to the car Sumo got distracted by a bird and pulled too hard on the leash, sending Connor flying after him and landing smack on his face on the concrete driveway. Hank held the leash after that.

It seemed they added injuries to toddlers along with the pain receptors. While the pain had been brief and Connor calmed down after crying over it, there was still a blue scrape on both cheeks and a thin line where he’d cut his nose. Maybe they just took longer to disappear, because Connor felt fine even when he pressed on them, and he informed Hank that it wouldn’t bruise, they couldn’t get those.

Upon arriving at the park, it didn’t take long for Connor to get distracted by wildlife, spotting a squirrel in the shadows. He crept forward, trying to get a better look at it. He scanned the squirrel, purely so he could zoom in on it and get a closer look. It had three nuts in its left cheek, a cut on its foot, and his eyes were tired. The squirrel must have been looking for food all day.

He quickly scanned the surrounding area and saw a couple nuts under a mound of dirt not too far away. Connor looked back at Hank to make sure he wasn’t going too far, but the lieutenant was sat on a bench and smiling at him. Connor quickly went to the dirt pile and pulled out the nuts, brushing off the bits of dirt that stuck to them.

The squirrel was halfway up a tree from running away, but its head snapped to face him when Connor began making noises. He’d heard them before, so now he tried imitating one and it seemed to be working. He held out the nut as bargaining, trying to entice it over. “C’mere..” He cooed, waving the nut just above the ground. “I got some more food for you, so you don’t have to keep searching.”

Its ear twitched at the repeated sounds, scurrying back down the tree and leaping towards him. It stopped about a meter away, flinching when Connor’s arm outstretched to offer the nut. Its head spun at the sound of a camera, seeing Hank a little close for comfort with Sumo in a ready to pounce position. Connor’s noises distracted it again and it stepped closer still, its arm now reaching up for Connor’s fingers.

Connor smiled when it took it, quickly stuffing it into its cheek and then waiting for Connor to offer the other one before scurrying back up the tree. Squirrels were fascinating; they were small and furry creatures, fairly docile, but easily startled. They were planning for hibernation already, or at least this one was, and he had spent too long looking for nuts that other squirrels may have already found. “Since when can you talk to squirrels?” Hank asked, walking over only for Connor to walk off somewhere else.

“I liked to walk here when you were on lunch breaks, so I heard them. You know I can imitate voices, right?” Connor cleared his throat, then spoke in a fluent Fowler voice. “I expect you to know these things, Hank.”

“Jesus Christ- please never do that again.” Connor laughed. “As long as you don’t abandon me to live amongst nature that’s fine with me.”

Connor beamed and kept on walking, on the lookout for more wildlife. When they worked through the summer Hank would go outside for his lunch breaks more often and Connor just had an hour to do whatever he wanted, so he often came to this park and there was plenty of wildlife around then, but it seemed all the little bugs and insects were hiding.

He saw lots of birds and could hear them tweeting in the trees, but as soon as Connor saw one Sumo would too and bark at it until it flew away. “Bad Sumo! No barky bark at the birds!” Connor scolded, pouting.

The dog whimpered, but he continued to bark anyway. Connor played with the dog once they reached the open field area, having Hank throw the ball and the two would chase after it. Sumo always won; while Connor could calculate where the ball would land almost as soon as it left Hank’s hand, he just wasn’t fast enough. The one time he was, Sumo pounced on him and they both tumbled to the ground.

Hank panicked and rapidly tried to scold the giant of a dog, but somewhere under his front paws and most of his belly was Connor giggling his head off. Sumo licked his face as if it were an ice cream, apologising for knocking him over. It was oddly.. charming to watch. Hank’s two favourite things, interacting with each other. “Gah! Sumo needs toothpaste!” Connor cried, now trying to wipe the dog slobber off of him.

“A’ight Sumo now you’re just being disgusting. We don’t wanna know where that tongue’s been.” Hank pulled him back by the collar, but then scratched between his ears to show he wasn’t being malicious. “You alright Connor?”

“Just dirty.” He wiped his hands on his trousers and then used his jacket sleeve to try and dry off his face.

More tired than before, Connor held Hank’s hand as they were making their trip back through the park to the car. Sumo was off up ahead chasing insects. Connor was thinking about yesterday, wondering what Hank and Paula had been discussing before his memory disappeared. His log said that he was put into sleep mode, but why would either of them do that? It made no sense. They sat down on a bench, Connor climbing up himself. “Hank?” He looked up at the older man. “What happened yesterday?”

“Hm? We went to Cyberlife to get you some more drink pouches.” Hank tugged down his beanie a little bit, tucking his ears inside.

“No, we talked to someone. You were being really secret.. secret… You were hiding something.” No answer. “What did you talk about? Was it about me?”

Hank seemed to hesitate, but he let out a quiet sigh and looked over at Sumo instead, sniffing at a patch of weeds. “Yeah.. I wanted Cyberlife to take away some of your toddler programming. It’s for your own safety, Connor, I don’t want you to be scared when you.. well I don’t know if you’re aware of it but you’re different than what you were a week ago when you came into the office, and this killer ain’t coming round quick enough for you to not lose any maturity you once had.”

“Do.. do you not like me?” Hank glanced at Connor, but the hurt in his eyes quickly made him look away again. “I’m sorry… I…” Connor started to whimper, tears brimming. “I thought…”

“Connor no, it’s not like that. She didn’t touch you, we didn’t do any changes to your code. She said she could accelerate it and take away what was left of your RK whatever tendencies so you’d be a complete toddler but I said no. If you’re going to become a toddler you may as well do it at a natural pace. No point thrusting you straight into it now if we didn’t do it at the start.”

The crying next to him started to become more audible. I’m sorry… I-I promise I won’t be so scared anymore, I’ll keep quiet and do really well at the crime scenes! I’ll.. I-I’ll be more grown up.” Connor knew the urges he was having were bad, he should have suppressed more of them, be mature and act professional as if at work. “I can be who you want me to be! R-remember? I’m whatever you want me to be.”

“Connor, no..” Hank looked over at him and the small boy had his face hidden in his hands, sobbing quietly. “I don’t mean it like that at all, I’m just telling you what we said there. I care about you, I’m being honest here. I care about you a lot and that’s why I wanted to send you back, because if you’re too dependant on me then I’m worried you won’t be able to take care of yourself when you’re kidnapped so-“

“You don’t trust me!?” Connor tried being angry, tried to glare at Hank, but his expression came off as an angry pout. “I’ll be fine! That’s why I’m like this! I’m not stupid!”

“Not yet! You’re still so smart and capable Connor, but toddlers aren’t, and the more toddler you become the less quickly you’ll react, the less stress you can take, the less amount of independence you can have. You can’t even do your own shoes, you put them on the wrong feet this morning. I did the zip on your jacket. Connor, my problem is that I already care too much for you, and reversing the effects is completely selfish so I’m sorry, okay? I don’t want to care for you because I’m scared I’m going to lose you. I already lost one son I don’t..”

Silence. Connor had stopped crying. They were looking at each other, both waiting for the other to speak first. Connor was sure his LED must be red, but it was safely hidden under the beanie Hank had so lovingly put on him. His jacket that his small fingers struggled to hold both halves of the zip, and his shoes that he somehow forgot which was left and right. Hank cared, a lot, and he was showing it more recently.. but going to Cyberlife for that just felt like betrayal. Hank knew how much he hated it there, and they went to try and change his personality; he wondered if adult him would understand Hank's motive and the fact that he didn't was the whole reason they went in the first place.

He was the first to look away, watching his legs swing over the edge of the bench. “I’m sorry…” He murmured. “I don’t want to hurt you. I feel really strong urges to do what I see human children doing, but I tell myself not to. Everyday they get stronger and I just want to give in but I know that means I’m not me. I want to be me, this new me. It’s fun, I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Then.. then give in. If it’s what your programming wants, and it’s what you want, there shouldn’t be anyone stopping you. I’m going to look after you whatever state you’re in, don’t think that I don’t like you. I _love you_ , Connor. You’re my son. You have absolutely nothing to apologise for.”

Connor was taken aback. That was the last thing he expected to come out of Hank’s mouth. He’d put literal blood spurting out of his mouth before those words. “R-really?”

“I’ve thought it for a while, to be honest..” Hank desperately wanted alcohol now, it would let him forget this horrifically emotional shit was coming out his mouth. “When you were still an adult, but I kept it quiet since there wasn’t really a reason for you to feel it back. You may have been programmed to blend into society but we both know very well that Cyberlife don’t know what socialising meant. Although now that you’re a kid, it’s a little more likely.”

Hank was rarely emotional like this, sober, _in public._ Connor didn’t want to ruin the moment, he wanted to hear more about it. “Well..” Connor blushed a deep blue. “You kinda threw me off with the whole trying to take away my new personality but..” He shrugged, then beamed up at Hank. “I _guess_ I could call you daddy from now on.”

The human barked out a laugh and pulled Connor into a hug before he had the chance to protest. He could feel tears brimming but he tried to force them back down. Him? Hank Anderson? A dad again? Showing emotion in the middle of a park in the bustle of Detroit? He wasn’t that soft, this was pretty pathetic. _Self doubt.. Self doubt.._ “I love you daddy.” Connor mumbled, picking up on his accelerating heart so he hugged him tighter.

There was no time for doubt. No time to self depreciate oneself. Hank had to keep the thoughts at bay because Connor’s happiness was his new main focus; love and protect him at all costs. Keep him safe, keep him out of harm’s way… as much as you could when the whole focus was getting kidnapped; but until Fowler forced him to, Hank would rebel, he’d- “New case.” Connor stated when Hank’s phone pinged, and he received it himself.

Hank sighed. Another dead kid. These cases would stop if he didn’t protect Connor. No wonder the poor kid went deviant, his sole purpose to make decisions like this and not let emotions get in the way, but when they did the answer seemed almost impossible. Do you let children die indefinitely or risk getting your own killed?

Only time could tell, they had a body to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A'ight I'm too lazy to write the lil bit of code to put drawings here (I'll save code writing for when uni starts again, ugh) so if you wanna check 'em out they'll be on my sideblog tumblr now --> https://izzys-dump.tumblr.com/ feel free to say hi there's not a whole lot up there yet :) 
> 
> I hope you guys liked this chapter! The argument felt out of place and over too quickly but dhsjkfjdsd I rewrote it twice and this is the result so I hope it's alright. See you on Monday <3
> 
>  
> 
> ~~P.S I know child androids can hide their LEDs but sssssssssssshhhh let's just pretend Connor can't to hide my stupidity~~


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This ain't the cheeriest of chapters I have to admit but Connor tries to test Hank and has a nightmare

“Hang in there.” Connor said, seeing the words written in thirium on the brick wall.

Hank parked up alongside the pavement and got out, leaving Connor in the car so he could assess the situation first. He said hello to a couple people before he disappeared through the holographic police tape and out of Connor’s sight. “Jesus fucking christ!” He exclaimed, stumbling back out. “What, is this guy suddenly stepping up his game!? I swear to god if he keeps up with this motivational shit things are going to get super fucking ugly.”

“What is it?” Connor called from the car, but since the windows were closed nobody heard him.

Hank disappeared again so Connor took matters into his own hands. He remembered the big red button removed his straps and he knew how to open the car door, but it was a matter of actually doing that. He did the button just fine and he picked up his new dog plush -he called it Merry, they bought him from a stall at the park exit- then tried to heave open the car door.

What was meant to be a graceful jump turned into an ugly fall. Connor used all his weight to open the car door which resulted in him swinging out with it, feet getting caught on his car seat so he rotated forwards and landed on his side on the concrete. Some pain rushed into his arm and it looked like his skin was scraped, but from tripping over so many times already he no longer found it that painful.

Someone he didn’t recognise rushed to ask if he was okay, and after an initial enjoyment of being fussed over, Connor brushed them off and scampered towards the crime scene. “Sorry kid, little boys aren’t allowed past the tape.” The officer standing by warned, putting his hand out to stop him passing.

Hank turned, then frowned. “Connor how did you get out the car?”

“I fell.”

 _Sigh._ “Let him in, it’s just Connor.”

Connor walked in and got curious as to where the body was. Then he realised everyone was looking up and he did the same. A toddler, girl, head attached to her body by just a few wires that hung over a rusty pipe. The breeze in the air made her body sway, some thirium still dripping from the exposure and creating a small puddle below her feet. “Hang in there…” Connor repeated to himself. “ _Oh!”_ Pause. “How am I meant to analyse someone nine feet off the ground? We had to leave the park for this.”

Hank snickered at his attitude; Connor had been a sarcastic asshole when he wanted to as an adult and it was even funnier now. “W-well we’d hoped you could get her down, since you’re an android you wouldn’t place any fingerprints on her but we were.. unaware, of your situation.” They made it sound like Connor was a child on accident.

 “I could still do it?”

“Oh no you don’t.” Hank came forward and gave a gentle tug on his hand to pull him back. “If you’re not strong enough you’ll fall off the ladder and hurt yourself. We’ll just call one of the others in from the office, they’ll get her down.”

“But I could do it before!”

“Con, you can’t transfer strength. You’re not as strong as you were before.” Connor whined. “Don’t start getting like that, I don’t want you hurting yourself-“ Connor pulled out of Hank’s hand but was quickly grabbed round the waist by his arm instead, pulling him back to the lieutenant’s hip. “Connor! Just trust me for once. If you keep up this behaviour then you and Merry are sitting in the car until this is done and I’ll have someone make sure you don’t get out on your own again.” Hank made a mental note to child lock the back doors.

Connor huffed and clutched tighter to Merry. He went slack in Hank’s arms as a form of protest until he was allowed to sit on the ground which he proceeded to stare at and occasionally kick. He knew Hank was probably right about falling off, but he wasn’t just going to admit that! He muttered something about being really strong but Hank ignored him. What kind of damage would he even get if he did fall 9ft? Broken bones? Did androids even have bones to break or would he just scuff his plastic enough to expose wires? Whatever it was, it would probably hurt _a lot._ Not that that message was getting across to stubborn miniature Connor, but maybe this was Hank’s beginning of having to disciplines him; teach him to be more humanly aware of situations rather in than analytical awareness.

When another android arrived with a ladder he pre-constructed what might happen if he had gone up instead. He even judged what would happen if he leapt off he ladder and swung around on the girl’s body, but… he wouldn’t be able to jump, and his arms weren’t big enough to carry her properly let alone hold the ladder as well. His LED turned an embarrassed red so he self-consciously tugged his beanie down to make sure it was hidden.

Hank released his hold on the back of Connor’s top, allowing him to finally get a look at the body. Shot between the eyes, slit wrist, tracer taken out and put back in, and yet not a single fingerprint of skin fibres on the android’s clothing. The usual. _Great._ “This is fucking perfect!” Connor shouted, making everyone turn heads.

It was less that Connor swore, but more that a four year old swore. “There’s never any stupid evidence on these stupid bodies! Never never _never!”_ Was this a tantrum? Should Hank stop him? “I hate it! Someone just take me already! We’re not getting anywhere with this! They’re too clever for me! It’s my fault!”

“Connor.”

“Just one slip up is all I ask! Just one!”

_“Connor.”_

“Something to get this stupid invest.. vest.. fuck! This stupid case going! There’s no patterns anywhere! None! I hate it I hate it!”

_“Connor!”_

The boy screamed in frustration then fell to his knees and dramatically started to sob into his dog toy. Hank didn’t think he’d seen such fake tears before; the toddler just wanted attention and nobody was giving it to him. Connor’s sobs paused and he glanced at Hank, then continued crying. “Hank, sort the kid out for god’s sake.”

Hank picked up the now wailing child and awkwardly walked out the alleyway and back to the car, putting Connor down on the pavement out of sight of everybody else. Again, he wasn’t willing to cooperate and ended up sat on the ground again. Hank’s attitude towards fake crying was to always ignore it, hoping the child would then kick the habit when they realised it didn’t work. Whether meltdown or breakdown, Hank turned his back to Connor and played around on his phone, but not after taking a photo to probably blackmail him with at a later date.

A few minutes later and Connor gave up, calming down to a quiet sniffle instead. “Are you done now?” Hank asked, looking over his shoulder. “You wanna tell me why you just did that?” Connor said nothing, trying to push Hank away when he started to clean his face with a tissue. “You frustrated? Embarrassed?” Still silence. “I should punish you for swearing like that and causing a scene, that was extremely naughty of you. Maybe if you just talk to me, we can make a deal.”

That seemed to catch his attention. Connor started to fidget, getting the dime Hank had given him out his pocket and started twirling it with both hands. “It’s not fair. I feel.. cheated. There’s been more deaths while I was in that coma, but now there’s more bodies and they’re getting more gro.. grote.. more gross, but we can’t stop it. What if it keeps getting worse? More are going missing but they’re not turning up dead, he might just be stock.. uhm.. stock piling? Stockpiling them?”

It was true, while Hank and Connor were only assigned the murder victims, a group in a different department helped them keep tabs on just how many were missing and where from. Connor’s map was starting to get so extensive that Hank was struggling to understand what any of the symbols he’d made meant. As long as Connor knew what he was doing it didn’t really matter if nobody else did.

Hank sighed. His theory wasn’t totally crazy, the killer had to be getting multiple bodies from somewhere. “They’ll slip up eventually, everybody does. It’s something we should think about on a weekday, when we’re meant to be working, right now we should be having some fun. We should still be at the park chasing tennis balls and frisbees with Sumo. I’m still going to punish you for throwing a tantrum, but thank you for telling me why you did it.” Connor looked down at the ground in apology, but he didn’t say it. “I was going to ban you from the TV all evening but instead, no TV until after dinner.” While dinner was only about three hours from now, Connor still looked upset because his favourite program was on at 4pm and now he was going to miss it.

“Kay…”

“Are you done investigating? Do you want to go back to the park?”

Connor shook his head. He took off his hat and held it out to Hank, almost feeling guilty for wearing it. “I wanna go home..” Hank stroked Connor’s cheek, tilting his head up to read his expression. “I wanna go home and have a nap.”

“Then we’ll do just that. Wait here, I’ll go tell them we’re leaving.”

~*~

_“Help us.. Help us, Connor..”_

_Connor turned around, seeing a group of children in front of him. They were all blind, eyes grey, and there was a bullet hole somewhere in their skulls. Some of them were missing limbs, chunks of skin, biocomponents at their feet. Connor swallowed the lump in his throat. “Why won’t you come find us, Connor? We’re scared! Aren’t you scared too? Scared this will happen to you?”_

_“What do you mean?”_

_“You’ll get hurt Connor, you don’t want to get hurt. We don’t want to hurt either!”_

_“W-what?”_

_“Please, help us! We don’t want to hurt!”_

_“I’m going to help you! I’m going to find who did this!” They didn’t seem to believe him. “I have another tracker in my left leg, my friends will come find me. I-I can give you justice. I just need more evidence! I can’t find any anywhere. You need to tell me!”_

_“But you need to find us before we’re brought to you._ ” _Connor frowned. “Please find us! We want to go home!”_

_“B-b-but you’re all dead..”_

_One walked forward, one that still looked alive; his eyes were a vibrant brown. He was on older child model than Connor, he looked like a young Josh. “Please.” He offered out his arm, peeling back the skin and showing off the deep cut on his wrist._

_Connor was hesitant. He let the boy grab his arm and images flooded his mind; images of piles of dead children, thirium flowing down the dead bodies. Biocomponents were scattered across the ground. Was that.. he could hear something, someone.. they were panting, crying, the camera starting to move haphazardly as they looked left to right. “No!” They screamed._

“Hey.. you okay?”

_The camera spun round, a pixelated face suddenly in front of them. They said something, but it was like the film had been muted. A knife was in their left hand, and the camera point was now fixed, as if someone held it still. The knife disappeared out of sight, but the sound suddenly came back as someone let out a cry of pain._

_It made Connor cry out too, but the older child wasn’t letting go._ “Connor, wake up!”

_Everything was fading, it was white noise, it was painful, he wanted it to stop! Then it did, the images suddenly stopped and Connor looked at the boy in a panic but his eyes were grey.. just like the rest._

Connor woke with a scream, grabbing the first thing he felt and latched onto it like a lifeline. “Connor, are you okay!?” It was Hank, right in front of him, gripping his arms almost worryingly tight.

He didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want to speak. He didn’t want to see. He was panting like a dog, getting faster and faster. “Con, you gotta calm down, you’re going to hyperventilate. Take in deep breaths, like at that first crime scene, remember? Can you do that for me?”

Connor shook his head, gripping harder to whatever he was holding. Everything was painful. His head hurt, his arms hurt, his chest felt like it was being squeezed. He knew he was overheating, he knew he was working himself too hard, he knew he wasn’t getting enough cool air in his systems, the error messages in his vision weren’t letting him see anything else. He could barely see Hank through all the red. It was too much. Too much!

A countdown appeared. Connor tried to look at Hank, tried to tell him something but all that came out of him was terrified sobbing. His eyes started to flicker, then more rapidly. They rolled up into the back of his head as his body slowly stopped reacting; the pressure left him, he dropped his grip. He fell forward, he landed against Hank’s chest, and his LED switched off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyeh heh heh! I've had the ending of this chapter pre-written for a good month, so happy it's finally published >:D I tried to make this chapter a bit longer but sheesh I'm losing my touch on writing crime scenes. 
> 
> Question: Would you guys like longer chapters (but more would happen) or are you happy with the way the chapters are now?? They kinda average about 2k a chapter. Do let me know :)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Or suffered, I like that too. See you guys on Friday <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank looks after a sick Connor and then they chat to Fowler

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erk sorry this was late, I got inspired to draw lil Connor again instead of editing this chapter (I've also started a massive art project for my bff, which I only half regret committing to)

_-Rebooting-_

_-Systems online-_

_-Checking vitals-_

_-Vitals checked-_

_-Concerns: Hydration level: low-  
              Body temperature: high-_

Connor opened his eyes to a white ceiling, one that was decaying a little bit from age. There was a small blow to his hair, followed by the distinct smell of dog breath. He looked to the side and got another blow of hot smelly breath right to the face. Something fell off his head from the movement and landed on Sumo, waking the dog. He made a small noise of surprise, head popping up and then shaking it. “Hey Sumo...” Connor whined at his headache, reaching out to stroke the dog’s fur. “Where’s daddy?”

The dog got up and jumped off the bed. He patted out the room, barked loudly for attention, then came back into the room to snuggle next to Connor, his head on top of his right arm. Hank came running in, sighing in relief when he saw Connor’s eyes looking back at him. “Oh thank god… you had me so god damn worried, Con. Are you okay? How do you feel?”

“I’m okay...” Connor looked at Hank’s bedside clock. “We should be at work right now…”

Yep, Connor was just fine. Work always on the mind. “Oh don’t think about work. I told Fowler what happened and he gave us the day off so I can take care of you. Now what the hell happened? You were just napping on the sofa but you started whimpering and making noises so I started trying to wake you up but you wouldn’t! You started crying and your light was on party mode or something with the way it flashed- then you were awake and panting and then you passed out! Even your light went out! You’ve been asleep over 12 hours son, I was worried sick! I even called Cyberlife!”

Connor curled closer to Sumo, some tears in his eyes as he tried to hide his face. Hank softened, realising his mistake. Was Connor’s skin paler? “Sorry, Con.. I’m just really glad to see you wake up, Cyberlife said to wait 12 hours and I was just making myself a packed lunch before I was gonna take you there. I thought you’d short circuited or something and damaged something.”

Hank picked up the cold cloth off of poor Sumo’s head and then put a hand to Connor’s forehead. He wasn’t nearly as hot as he had been last night, but he still felt feverish. “Do you remember what happened yesterday? Do you remember waking up?”

Connor whimpered and curled into Sumo again. “It hurts to try and remember.”

 “That’s okay.” Hank stroked his cheek. “Do you want to go back to sleep? Do you want a drink?”

A drink please, a-and something cold. I feel really hot.”

“Well we’re not going anywhere today, so let’s get you out of these pyjamas.”

Connor let Hank undress him, then he got carried through in just underwear, the dog following in tow. He placed the boy on the kitchen counter so that he was nearby, able to watch Hank continue making his sandwich and then give him a pouch.

He looked at Connor, gently holding his chin and turning his head side to side. “Good to see your light is back on. You’re a little pale though…”

Hank hadn’t slept a wink, staying by Connor and Sumo in the bedroom all evening and night in case his light came back on. He’d called Cyberlife around 11, saying he’d been out for four hours with his light off. Hank only left his side to make food, even though he wasn’t hungry and he still didn’t have much appetite; but he had fully prepared for staying overnight or longer at Cyberlife. What on earth was he going to feel when Connor got taken?

Connor was busy trying to remember last night, pushing through the headache pain and seeing vague images of other children, but the fried wires feeling was too overwhelming. He easily remembered going to the park and the crime scene, and then they drove home, he had a bubble bath, then… Hank patted his leg, trying to calm the whimpering child.

He struggled to sit upright, swaying left to right. He stared at Hank’s sandwich but it started to blur and turned into two. He shook his head, but it made him feel worse. Hank put a hand on his shoulder to stabilise him but his head still wavered a little. “Daddy I don’t.. feel good.” Connor murmured, putting his half-finished pouch on the counter. “I really really don’t feel good.”

“Don’t feel good? What hurts?”

“My tummy..” Connor clutched to himself, overcome with slight panic. “It hurts.”

Connor began to gag, tensing his muscles as he tried to hold whatever it was back. Hank immediately knew what was about to happen and tried to quickly remove Connor from the worktop but the movement of his body made Connor throw up onto the kitchen floor. He was now held mid air by a cringing Hank, the pressure on his stomach from Hank’s hands making him feel even worse. He started sobbing between each hurl, going a couple more times before turning into a trembling mess in Hank’s arms.

He’d never been sick before, he couldn’t get sick as an adult, and as far as he was aware he thought child illness was meant to be pure simulation. This was horrible! His throat hurt, his stomach hurt, his entire body trembled, his brain was all over the place. “Connor-Jesus..” Hank took a couple steps back and put him on a chair. “Are you okay!? Is that blood?!”

The vomit was a cloudy pale blue, the same colour as the drinks he consumed. “N-n-no.. Th-thirium is darker.. O-ow…” He kept softly crying, but it was only giving him more discomfort.

“Good.. Well not good, but it’s not blood. Android illnesses are a little too real now, but that’s okay, that’s why I’m here to take care of you. You threw up, that’s okay, kids sometimes do that when they’re unwell.”

“I don’t like it…”

“It’s not a very nice feeling, is it? Do you think you’re going to do it again?”

“N-no..”

“Can you sit alright? Do you want to lie down?”

“I w-wanna sit. I don’t wanna move.”

Hank nodded. He kissed Connor’s temple and got to work on cleaning up, starting with Connor’s face and then the floor. It was weird, and thankfully didn’t smell; Cole had quite the sensitive stomach so Hank was used to this, but it still didn’t feel great to see your kid in pain. Connor had never felt sickness before, and the poor thing couldn’t just get a common cold, he got whatever this was.

It could well be stress; the nightmare or whatever happened from last night could have set it off, or maybe from the crime scenes, maybe from knowing he could die… Adding it all up made it sound rather probable this would happen to Connor, but it took a stupid amount of stress to make someone physically sick. “Connor, do you want to tell me anything?” Hank asked, kneeling in front of him and holding his hands. “Is work getting to you more than you’re telling me?”

Connor slowly shook his head. “My nightmare.. it really hurt my head. There.. There were.. um.. loads of other children. They were all dead. Tortured. Th-they were missing limbs and b-b-biocomponents. I don’t know what happened.. One of them held my hand.” Connor looked down at his hand and retracted the skin, looking for evidence of any touch. “I saw bodies.. and thirium.. I-I saw him get killed. I felt it. I felt him die, daddy!”

“Woah woah woah- slow down there Connor. You saw what? Whatever you saw and what that boy showed you.. none of it was real.” Connor wouldn’t look at him. “You told me you can’t communicate with other toddlers, so it can’t have been real. Yeah?”

“B-but-”

“Nightmares can sometimes feel so real that you can genuinely believe something has happened, and that’s why they’re so scary. I get nightmares too, I used to get them a lot, and I’d wake up feeling scared; but when I see I’m in my bed then I know none of it was real, and I tell myself over and over that nothing happened. You understand? Whatever you saw, no matter how scary, no matter how real it felt.. it was only a nightmare.”

“Okay..” It didn’t make the acidic burn in his gut go away, nor the wires in his head from sizzling, but he took comfort from Hank understanding how he felt. “Can I have a cuddle?”

“Yeah c’mere. Daddy cuddles.”

Once his stomach settled, Connor spent the rest of the day in Hank’s arms. Hank was struggling not to fall asleep, but whenever he did his arms would slip and Connor would whine “cuddles!” loud enough to wake him back up. They just sat in front of the TV together, watching old game shows. Connor fell asleep first, sucking on his thumb. Hank wasn’t much later, an protectively draped over Connor to keep him in place.

~*~

Connor wasn’t much better the next day, but Fowler didn’t let them stay home. He spent most of the week in Hank’s lap and in a daze, only working when he actually felt up to it. It didn’t help that six more children came up dead, twin boys and a group of four unrelated toddlers both with some stupid inspirational message written in thirium. The fact that the four were unrelated threw a spanner in the works of the killer collecting siblings; it put poor frustrated Connor back at square one with his theories.

The group of four were also the only children not taken from a park. One came from the zoo, another from some kid’s birthday party, and the other two came from the aquarium. While the idea of the killer expanding his radar of places to kidnap was terrifying, Connor couldn’t help but feel a little excited when Fowler instructed them to check all the places out. “I think it’s time you two do some field work. I would still like you to investigate any more murders that come up, but consider yourselves free of paperwork and coming into the office unless called for.”

“I get to go to the park and the aquarium!?” Connor cried, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

Fowler didn’t really know how close Hank’s bond was to Connor, he didn’t know they considered each other family, and he definitely didn’t know about all of Connor’s ‘urges’. Mainly because Fowler never listened when either of them tried to explain that Connor’s maturity deteriorated over time and it was sooner rather than later, so Connor was currently sat on his own chair at the highest it could go and getting stared at by Fowler. “Connor, take this matter seriously. You’re only in that body to catch a killer, I expect you to continue behaving as normal.”

His LED spun yellow. “S-sorry, sir.. What about my map? My new memory palace is too small to hold all of its data so can we have something that I can access from home?”

“I’m sure we have something spare in storage that you can borrow, yes. Any leads?”

“That’s what I’m working on.”

Fowler nodded. “Hank, may we chat in private?”

Hank picked Connor up and carried him to the door of Fowler’s office, elbowing it open and putting him down outside. Connor was in fact too short to reach the door handle, and he was nowhere near strong enough to push it open himself; so Hank did it for him then told him to wait by their desks. They could go to a playground later on.

Fowler had leant back in his seat, trying to look more casual, but Hank knew he was probably about to get chewed out for something. “What have I done wrong now?” Hank grumbled, sitting back in his seat. “Is this to do with me or Connor?”

“I’m worried about your relationship.” Hank raised an eyebrow. “I don’t trust that you’re not just going to hide his LED and pretend the killer keeps skipping over him. You know he’s still adult Connor in there, don’t get fooled by his size. We _need_ to catch this killer Hank, it doesn’t look good that we’re letting androids die.”

“They’re kids, I’m well aware of the situation. Why would I hide Connor?” Why wouldn’t he would be a better question. “I know what’s at stake, but for fuck’s sake Jeffrey he’s programmed to have needs and ignoring him will just make him behave badly and he won’t listen to us. If we’re meant to communicate with him once he’s taken then someone has to have a bond of trust with the kid. I’m simply taking on that roll since he lives with me; sure whatever he’s not actually a child but even adults have to play pretend sometimes.”

Hank felt bad for what he was saying, because he didn’t believe a word of it, he fully believed now that Connor was a child. Earlier this week alone was enough to prove that. On the days they hadn’t been to a murder Connor had been hyperactive, running around the house or playing with Sumo; watching TV, playing with his toys in the garden, helping Hank make his dinner by cutting vegetables (and his finger). He even caught him doing a small dance to one of Hank’s jazz songs, waving his hips and mumbling the lyrics that he barely knew.

Fowler cleared his throat, bringing him back to the present. “Just don’t get too wrapped up in this little game of pretend. I thought you hated androids Hank, but it seems you’ve had a turn around and you’re more fond of them than I am. He’s not your son.” That sent a spark of anger up Hank’s spine, but he stayed still. “Now get outta here. Get Connor in their sights.”

Hank sighed. “Alright. Hopefully I don’t have to see you anytime soon.”

“ _Watch your mouth.”_ Fowler smirked. “Now get out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lads I made an art blog! Idk if you want to follow, but here's a link if you're interested -> https://izzys-dump.tumblr.com/
> 
>  


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> W h o l e s o m e c o n t e n t
> 
> Also Connor finds out his daredevil skills didn't really transfer

Data was still being brought in by all the childrens’ parents about either where they disappeared from, how long before they were found, or where their human children were attacked. They were probably still missing a few, but it was adding to Connor’s map and it seemed he was finally getting results with it. “That’s the most popular park for attacks.” Connor pointed at one, currently stood on a kitchen chair. “It’s also where the most androids are taken from, but through a ratio the killer has a better chance taking them from that park.” He pointed to a different one. “So we should start there.”

“I’d rather go to where the attacks aren’t.” Connor turned to look at him, frowning. “I’m not getting you taken on day one.”

“But daddy-“

“I know I know.. It’s still second best, right?”

“No, we should go to this one. If I get taken and we find the killer then we can do cool stuff!” Connor really didn’t know what he was getting into, and he put it up to child innocence that he couldn’t help having. “Right? I can stay like this?”

“If you want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Hank didn’t say anything. He just told Connor to pick a park and he still insisted on the one where he was most likely to be taken, so Hank helped him put on his shoes. Connor seemed to be getting the feet wrong more and more often, but if he was meant to learn like a child, it meant Connor had a terrible memory; or, the actual reason, was that Connor just liked having Hank do things for him as it meant physical contact. Hugs were his favourite thing, he only felt truly safe when Hank gave him one.

It was warm outside today, so Hank didn’t put Connor in a jacket, but he did put one in the back of the car. “Can’t Sumo come too?” Connor asked, hugging the dog goodbye. “He loves the park!”

“Sorry Con, dogs aren’t allowed in the childrens’ play area, and he’ll just sit and whimper if we leave him sat by the gate.”

“You could walk him while I-“

“ _No.”_ Connor shut his mouth. “Not today. Just one day, okay? Then I’ll start letting you go.”

Connor could sense Hank's distress around their reason for going to the park, and maybe he had a point; if something went wrong or they took too long to catch him, then Connor could die and be disfigured like the others. At least he knew a shot to the head would be how he died, he wouldn’t be mutilated first. Unless the nightmare about all those children were real.. but none of them had said how they died.

He hadn’t seen them since, he hadn’t dreamt at all since, and he almost wished he would. Hank didn’t let him nap at work except for when he’d been feeling sick, so he didn’t have the biggest number of opportunities to ‘dream’ or whatever it was happen to him. He could just sleep without being allowed to, nobody could technically stop him, but outright catching the killer took priority.

The park was a short drive away, on the outskirts of Detroit. “Be careful okay?” Hank kissed his forehead and Connor felt a shiver of nerves run up his spine. “Have fun, kiddo.” He ruffled his hair, but Connor stayed put.

The forehead kiss threw him off. It felt so.. _loving._ As if Hank transferred some of his worries into him and now he looked at the other children and equipment with hesitation. Their giggling and joy did make him curious though, and he felt the familiar bubble of an urge to be childlike come to the surface. “Go on, you’ve been wanting this for ages.”

“Yeah..” Connor smiled, “I’ll be on that wall thing!” He pointed to a climbing frame.

Hank made Connor kiss him on the cheek, just in case this was goodbye, and then Connor ran off.

He stuck out like a sore thumb at first, not talking to any of the others and being a little too obvious when he stared at them, clearly scanning them or judging their behaviour. Hank wished he could tell him to act more natural, observing or interacting with others was how other children learned but Connor… Connor tried his best.

A girl approached him, a human, simply saying hello. “Um.. hello.” Connor replied, feeling like his social programming had suddenly been thrown out the window.

“My name’s Emily, what’s yours?” She noticed the LED on his temple and she gasped. “You’re an android! That’s so cool! What’s it like being an android? Is it really weird?”

“Um.. Connor, I uh.. I don’t know what it’s like being human so I guess like being an android? I can do things really quickly.”

“Can you run real fast?”

“Maybe-“

“Come play tag with me! You can meet my friends!”

She grabbed him by the wrist and started to pull Connor away before he could protest, and he thought it might be rude to reject her and this could be a way to learn something new. Emily practically whacked him on the arm yelling “it!” and then everyone was running off. “You gotta catch someone and then they’re it!” A boy yelled at him, halfway across the playground.

Well they seemed simple enough rules, why not?

~*~

Apparently there was no winner to that game, only a loser when everyone decided the game had disbanded and the current ‘it’ was that loser. Two boys had to go home, so the game ended and Connor ended up playing pirates with three girls on the climbing frame, yelling at each other about walking the plank, almost pushing each other down the slides but they’d get up and run away laughing across the wooden bridge. “I’m gonna jump!” One of them cried, gripping to a metal pole. “The sea monster calls me!” Her mum said it was time to go home.

She made an exaggerated ‘sploosh’ sound when she landed on the gravel below, then waved goodbye before running to her waiting mum and brother. The remaining three stopped their game, but still went on everything. They took turns on the see saw, but sadly, Connor was the next to leave. “C’mon Connor, we can’t leave Sumo crossing his legs!”

He looked back at Hank who was still sat on the bench, phone in one hand. Connor looked at the girls who seemed quite upset their second android friend was leaving, but they both knew that not doing as you’re told wasn’t the best idea. “But I wanna keep playing!” Connor, only being a child for two weeks, did not know this just yet. “I’m having fun!”

“I know but we can’t control the dog’s bladder. Come on, it’s about time for your drink too or you’ll get dehydrated.”

Connor checked the time, 5:08 appearing in the top left of his vision. “I’m not thirsty!”

“I think your daddy is gonna get angry Connor.” Emily whispered to him. “You don’t wanna be told off. My mummy and daddy put me on the naughty step. I hate that step!”

“My mummy has a naughty room and it’s really dark.” The other girl agreed.

Connor debated what Hank would do. How did he scold Cole? He’d threatened to take away his plush dogs before, but until now Connor hadn’t tried defying Hank, and he felt a strange compulsion to push Hank’s buttons. “No! I’m staying!”

Hank sighed. “Connor don’t get on my bad side, I’m not in the mood for tolerating you.”

The girls muttered about what tolerating meant. “I want to play with my friends! I’m not moving!”

“I’m going to count to three and if you don’t get down here I’m taking you by force. You know I will.” Connor had told the girls Hank was a police officer and that made them more eager to tell him to do as he was told. “ _One.”_

Connor stayed where he was, holding onto the wooden bridge. Hank stood up. “ _Two.”_

The girls cleared a path, giving Connor a direction to run in. “ _Three!”_

Connor made a run for it. The girls encouraged him as he ran across the climbing frame, speeding away from the bench Hank had now quickly exited. His scanners sprung into action, evaluating the three options.

_Option 1: Slide: Slow descent, chance of capture 85%_

_Option 2: Pole: Directly ahead, chance of capture 55%_

_Option 3: Bridge: Change in direction, chance of capture 45%_

None of the options seemed too good, and Connor knew his small size was a hindrance, but he was still an android, and he was superior! He could survive anything! The other bridge was his best option, and then he could head straight for the swings, a moving obstacle only his android reflexes could dive through. He could do this!

Connor took a sharp right turn and leapt up, leap frogging over the edge of the bridge. He had a good foot clearance, and Connor began to move in the air so he’d land properly but the next thing he knew was that he had a face full of bark and a _lot_ of pain in his left leg. “Oh my god- Connor!” Hank was beside him in seconds, touching him gingerly. “Connor are you alright!?”

He helped Connor to sit up, leaning heavily to his left side. He was quiet as a mouse, LED whirring between yellow and red. “Connor you okay!?” Emily yelled to him, her mum coming over to check on the commotion.

Hank didn't have time to process his shock when he saw the boy jump, but most of his anger was replaced with a sudden worry and panic when he landed smack on his face and didn't immediately get up. Looks like his stealth wasn't what it used to be, and despite Hank telling him that numerous times, of course it took stubborn Connor to try and pull a stupid stunt to realise it. Connor blinked away his daze and looked up to Hank, the shock beginning to wear off and his brain told him that pain sensors had been triggered. Unsure what else to do, his eyes welled up with tears and he burst out into a wail. He was quickly pulled into his dad's arms, mostly to muffle the cries, but also to comfort him. "Hey, it's okay... it's okay Connor, you're gonna be okay. What did you hurt? Tell me what hurts and I'll try to make it better."

Connor tried to run a diagnostic to see if he’d damaged anything, but it erupted an even worse pain in his forehead and it made him cry harder. “I.. I..” He sobbed, “my.. m-my leg…”

“Which one? Is it your left one?” Hank carefully picked him up, carrying him back to the bench and laying him down on it. "Don't worry, Con, I'll get ya patched up real soon."

There were a few scrapes along his arms, rubber prints in his hands, and a deeper looking cut just below his left knee; but it was nothing a plaster couldn't fix. "Is it the cut that hurts? Did you damage anything?"

“I c-can’t ch-ch-check… My head huuuurts!”

“Where does it hurt, Con?” He pressed a couple fingers around his head, making Connor whimper and cry when he touched around his forehead and temples. “You hit your face, eh? Silly thing I thought you were more agile than that, considering the moves you’ve pulled on me before. I’ve seen you jump onto trains and run across rooftops, what happened?”

Hank was trying to lighten the mood, but he just made Connor feel guilty. “I’m sorry!” He cried, sitting up and reaching out for Hank to give him a hug. “I’m sorry!”

“Sssh, sssh… Hush, Con, hush. I forgive you, we can talk about what you just did later, alright? We need to get you home, check you over. Doesn’t look like you’ve broken anything, do you mind if I fiddle with your leg a little bit? Tell me if anything hurts.”

He watched Connor’s face for any discomfort, starting at the thigh and working down, getting a lot of whimpers and then cries around his ankle, so Hank quickly stopped. “Do androids swell? Crap- I don’t know what to do Connor, let’s just get you home first and we’ll put some ice on your leg. Does that sound okay? I’ll carry you.”

Connor clutched to Hank’s jacket, hiding his face in it, sensitive to the sunlight. “Excuse me, mister!” Emily came running over, stopping in front of Hank. “U-uhm is Connor okay?”

Hank smiled at her. “Don’t worry, Connor is fine, he just landed on his leg a little funny and I’m going to take him home to fix it up.”

“Oh, okay. Don’t forget your doggy! Bye bye Connor.”

Connor turned, quickly wiping the tears off his face in embarrassment. He was calming down now that the pressure on his leg was gone, and he regretted every decision from the past ten minutes. “Bye Emily.” She waved, and Connor paused, then waved back.

~*~

The house was quiet. The TV played cartoons on mute, the record player turned off; Sumo wasn’t even snoring. Hank sat on the sofa, a hand holding a book and the other slowly stroking Sumo’s back. Between Sumo’s legs and under one of his front paws was Connor, curled up and fast asleep. His left leg was stretched out, a cold patch around his ankle and one resting on his head; his thumb hung loosely out his mouth, a new habit he seemed to have picked up when sleeping. Must’ve seen another kid do it or maybe he figured it out himself.

Once they got home Hank fixed him up and gave him the cold patches. They had dinner together and Connor said he wanted to watch cartoons, so Hank turned on the TV. Took barely fifteen minutes for Connor to fall asleep, leaning against Hank’s arm. Hank lay him on a cushion, but then Sumo jumped up and curled around the sleeping child, even putting a paw over him. Hank took a photo, got a book out, and they’d been in the same positions since.

It was nearing 9pm and Connor still hadn’t woke up, so Hank assumed he was probably going to sleep through the night. Hopefully it didn’t mean he’d wake up at 5am. He looked so peaceful fast asleep, his LED a gentle blue, meaning his sleep was peaceful too. Too many nights so far had it been yellow and sometimes red because of nightmares over the crime scenes they visited. Hank didn’t want to take him anymore, and he didn’t want him showing off his LED to the world at the park either; but not everyone could get what they wanted.

Connor may have had the time of his life up until he leapt over the edge of a fucking bridge that was nearly as tall as him, but Hank had one of the most tense afternoons in his life. It eased over time when the group he played with got bigger, and he felt happy that Connor was actually socialising, but he barely looked at his phone in case one glance away caused Connor to disappear. He couldn’t risk it, he just didn’t want to. Not yet. Now the kid had hurt himself, he didn’t want an injured child to go away. He just wanted the best for him.. he wanted him to be safe and happy. “Daddy?” Hank jumped a little, not expecting to hear his voice. “Daddy?”

“You alright, Con?” He put his book down, turning to see the boy cuddling up to Sumo and holding onto his paw.

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Connor giggled at Hank’s expression.

“Sure, what is it?”

“Cus you’re my daddy now, c-can I have your surname? I’ve got an empty parent section in my database and.. I don’t like being ‘just Connor’ anymore.”

Hank's heart jumped, a similar euphoria to when his ex-wife agreed to marry him spreading through his body. Now he knew what the receiving end felt like, and it was amazing, but Connor also couldn't become an ex-son and that somehow made it even better. Hank smiled and stroked Connor's cheek, feeling the smooth skin under his fingertips. "Well, sure sounds like a sensible decision." He ruffled his hair, smile turning into a gleeful grin. "Connor Anderson, eh? It's got a nice ring to it. It suits you, son." Connor's eyes sparkled, but his smile was tired. "We'll get it done tomorrow, yeah?"

"Mhm. I'll do it through the cloud, I don't feel up to it right now."

"I don't expect you to, you still look exhausted. If you're feeling up to it we can go wherever you want as a treat, yeah? Celebrate the official addition to the Anderson family, though- nowhere too energetic because your leg needs rest, kay?" He patted his shoulder, then put his hand back on his cheek. "Go back to sleep, it's getting late."

Connor complied, closing his eyes and nuzzling between Hank's hand and Sumo. “I love you daddy.”

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, I managed to update this story on the right day! Hope you guys enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~I'm so bloody tired~~


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares, dog walk.. and shrek 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little patchy, even though it is long, but all stories need their filler

 

_“What are you doing? Connor, you need to come find us.”_

_Connor jolted, lifting his head off the ground. He was in the white area again, surrounded by the dead children. Was there more of them? “Who are you?” He called out, trying to stand up but the pain in his left leg stopped him. “What do you want?”_

_“We want you to find us.”_

_“Then where are you!?”_

“Hey, hey, Connor are you alright?”

_“We want to go home!” The boy from before, the one he saw die through his eyes. “We’re scared.” His arms were missing._

_“But who are you!?”_

_“Help us!”_

_This was getting him nowhere. “Where are you!?” Connor forced himself to stand up, taking a couple stumbled steps forward. “Please tell me!”_

_A girl stepped forward, one who looked alive, her right arm missing. Connor’s vision began to fill with static, everyone glitching in front of him. She offered out her arm but Connor couldn’t see it. He couldn’t see anything._

“Connor! Are you with me?” Connor screamed, sending the dog barking out into the hallway at the thought of an intruder. “Sumo! Sumo, there’s nobody there it’s just Connor! Son, are you alright? Did you have another nightmare?”

_-WARNING-_

_Stress levels: 68%_

_Body temperature: High_

“I.. I..” He wiped at his face, hands shaking. “I-I saw the dead children again. One of them looked alive, a-a girl this time! She held out her arm to me but I woke up…”

“It’s just a nightmare, none of the children you’re seeing are real, okay? I know you’re scared but I promise I won’t let anyone mutilate you.” Connor questioned why Hank had even thought of that possibility if he thought the visions were fake. “You’re scared of getting kidnapped, and I’m scared too, but we’re both in this mess now so.. just remember I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

“B-but if they take me I won’t be with you-“

“Your tracker, remember?” Hank tried a smile, tapping Connor’s leg where the second tracker was located. “And I can call you.” He tapped the side of his head. “We can talk the entire time, okay? We’ve got our ways, we’re one step ahead.”

“B-but my tracker-“

“Sssh, it’s okay. You’ve got two for a reason. Let’s think about something else. How about we get you some breakfast, yeah?”

Connor stayed quiet, still trembling a little when Hank gave him his pouch to drink so he held him in his lap as he drank to keep him stable. Cartoons were put on the TV to calm him further, and it seemed to work. Connor went onto Hank’s tablet and logged into Cyberlife as an android, updating his database. “Daddy are you sure?” Connor asked, his LED whirring a processing yellow.

“Course I’m sure. Go ahead, send it off.”

Hank was fascinated by how androids worked, because Connor hadn’t pressed the screen once since he typed in Hank’s passcode. The whole android section of the Cyberlife website and all their databases had no buttons or tabs, so a human trying to work around it without the source code would have no way of navigating it but Connor was doing it effortlessly. The database pinged and Connor twitched, a tab appearing in his vision and on screen. “Your adoption certificate is in the post.” Hank read aloud, smiling down at Connor. “You see that? You’re officially my son now.”

“And you’re my daddy!”

The small boy leapt up and grabbed Hank around the neck, making the older man laugh. “Yeah..” He felt tears brim in his eyes. “Yeah, I’m your daddy now.. and I always will be, for as long as you’re alive Connor, I will always be your daddy.” Connor held him tighter, rubbing cheeks. “Don’t you forget that, okay? I love you very very much.”

“I love you too.” Connor got a kiss on the cheek and he giggled at the feeling of Hank’s beard. “Daddy your beard is scratchy! You gotta shave!”

“Oh hell no! I look fat without my beard.”

They stayed in their hug as long as possible, rocking side to side on the sofa. Connor pulled back first, wanting to excitedly go to the bedroom to get dressed. He took a couple steps forward and fell over, wincing at the pain in his left leg. A diagnostic showed small damage to his ankle and some fried wires through his leg, but he didn’t need to sent in for repairs it was a simple case of resting it so the AI could learn to fix them itself.

It did bring on a long and whiney argument from Connor, because he was positively desperate to go to the aquarium but now they’d have to put it off until tomorrow at the very earliest. Connor suggested they at least go to the office, but Fowlers orders were to not come in unless they needed to so it looked like they’d be having a day at home instead. Hank didn’t think he’d had home days that weren’t forced upon him since both his wife and Cole got sick. She only worked part time so if Cole was sick she was the one who stayed home to look after him, but very rarely they both got the same illness and Hank would come home. He now wished he’d taken more days off to look after him, or take Cole to the park or even just out for ice cream. “Daddy are you okay?” Connor called to him.

The resemblance was almost cruel. Deep down Hank liked to think Cole would have made good friends with Connor both as an adult and a kid, and with just Connor left behind maybe Cole didn’t want him sulking. He was selfless that kid, always getting grumpy when Hank came home sad from work so he’d tell him about his day or about the story his toys were acting out in an attempt to cheer him up. “I’m fine, Con.”

 “You sure?”

Hank swallowed, trying to rid of the lump in his throat. “Yeah, fine. You keep playing, I’m going to clean this place for a change.”

Connor looked at him a little longer, then shrugged and turned back to his new toys. He’d found an old box full of worn out looking action figures and he’d practically scattered them across the house whenever he got bored with one of them. Hank immediately recognised them as Cole’s old toys and he wanted to be angry at Connor for touching them, or even rummaging through his things in the first place because Hank kept a lot of it in boxes -or at least whatever his ex didn’t keep for herself- but Connor’s playful noises and dialogue made Hank leave him alone. In the end, they were just toys.. perfectly good to use by any child.

It turned out Connor really did have an imagination, even if it was mostly crime related or plots from the cartoons he watched. As the day went on, more and more did he ask to go outside, claiming his toys needed to investigate out there or a bad guy was getting away; Hank had to sadly keep scolding him every time he asked. There were a couple steps down to their back garden which would put too much pressure on Connor’s ankle to keep using them at the rate he wanted. Besides, the boy was like a cat, he’d probably go outside for five minutes and then immediately want to come back inside because he touched something funny. In short, Connor could be a very energetic child stress-free, and Hank put it down to android stamina and boredom.

Sumo was bored, boofing quietly at Hank for a walk. “I’m sorry Sumo, we can’t leave Connor on his own so no walky today.”

“I can walk!” Hank jumped, seeing Connor was already right beside him. “Let’s walk Sumo!” Sumo’s tail picked up the pace at the sentence, thwapping against the kitchen floor. “He wants to go and I wanna go too!”

“No Connor, your leg needs to rest so that you’ll be able to walk _tomorrow.”_

“ _Pleeeeease?”_ Connor used his puppy eyes, hugging Sumo round the neck for emphasis.

Hank gritted his teeth. He couldn’t… He couldn’t say no to that face. “Fine.”

~*~

Of all the things Hank had thought of during his dog walks, he didn’t know if he’d ever thought about Shrek. More specifically, Shrek 2. He hadn’t thought about the film in years, he thought every reference had left his head -even Smash Mouth had lost its value- but there was something about the way Connor rode on Sumo’s back and looked around made Hank think of when Shrek first entered Far Far Away and Funky Town played. Geez, that song was older than Hank.. This year would be its 60th anniversary.

Nobody even rode a horse, or a dog, in that scene, it was just donkey looking around! …Why did he remember it so vividly!? The film was over 30 years old! Some things never disappear apparently… whether family tragedy or a fucking Shrek reference, some things just stuck with you.

Hank looked around desperately for a distraction but it was too late now, Funky Town was stuck in his head. Even after Sumo zoomed up the street and sent Connor flying into someone’s garden, Hank could just hear “Well talk about it talk about talk about it~” ringing in his ears. He allowed himself a laugh when Connor stood to try and get back on the dog but was quickly knocked back down by a tail to the face. “You want to sit on my shoulders instead?” Hank chuckled, pushing Sumo away to let Connor gain his balance. “I won’t chuck you into a flowerbed.”

Connor rubbed some dirt off his cheek. “Yes please.”

Sumo ran up and down the street on his own, leaving Hank and Connor just to follow along. They were quiet, each in their own thoughts. Connor patted gently at Hank’s head as if it were a drum, quietly humming to himself. Hank knew the tune, a jazz song from his favourite record; nice to know Connor enjoyed the same music he did. When Connor started to try and sing the words it was clear he didn’t know the lyrics yet, nor could he pronounce long words, but it was still cute to listen to. Hank could almost feel tension leaving his body.

At the end of the walk Connor quietened down, leaning forward and resting his chin on top of Hank’s head. “I miss being tall.” He said. “But that’s about it.”

“You don’t miss anything else from being an adult?”

“Well.. not crying every five minutes would be nice. I feel much more alive like this; they clearly put more humanoid care into children than they did me. You can’t simply update everyone to make them human, our bodies don’t work like that cus only children have digestion.”

“Hm, and here I was thinking you only wanted to be like this to solve a case.”

“W-well… that too I guess…” Connor looked sheepish. “I like being your son. I like bubble baths, I like sitting on your shoulders, I like cuddles.”

“Well we can do all of that as adults, y’know.. ‘cept maybe the sitting on shoulders part, you weigh too much. I also won’t wash you as an adult because that’s just weird, but we can still cuddle if you want? That’s still a while away, why are you thinking about it? You were singing just a moment ago.” Connor flushed bright blue. “You’re not usually one for depressing talk, that’s my job.”

Connor giggled. “I just.. don’t want this to end. I want to keep going out, I reeeeally want to go to the aquarium. I want to go swimming! I want to go to more parks, I want to try a theme park- but I think I’m too small.. I just wanna do kid stuff! These urges sound like so much fun and being an adult is just super boring!”

Hank put the boy down on the kitchen counter so they were eye level. Hank went to the fridge, hunting for a snack Connor would approve of. “Well you’re not wrong there, I’d love to be a kid again. I guess you deserve it Connor, you haven’t been allowed to grow up. You think you’d still want to be a kid after getting kidnapped?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Hank didn’t answer. “I just wanna have fun, and that can continue afterwards can’t it?” A pause. “No?”

~*~

_Connor opened his eyes, met with a pair of grey ones staring back at him. He felt like he should scream, but he didn’t feel an ounce of fear. This was just a nightmare, he’d wake up any moment now. Any moment now! “Go away!”_

_The eyes pulled away, revealing the girl who had tried showing him her arm. “Connor please!”_

_“How do you know my name? I don’t understand!”_

_The group looked the same, all the same children, nobody new yet. Another one had different eyes, living ones. Not even a bullet through her head like everyone else, but her legs were missing and she clutched to her left wrist. She was crying. “Please help me… I don’t want to die…” She was an older model._

_She suddenly screamed, falling backwards and writhing on the ground. She reached for a boy next to her for leverage, but her hand went straight through. Connor frowned. The boy looked at Connor, then at a small circle of about five others that stood next to him. “It’s too late for us.” He mumbled, walking over to join them._

_“Please!” The girl begged, reaching out for Connor. “Please!”_

_“I don’t know what you want!” He limped over to her anyway, the other children clearing a path. “What do you want from me!?” Now Connor was crying, too confused to know what else to do._

_Her arm revealed the white plastic and she tugged on Connor’s bad leg, forcing him to the ground. Before he could protest, she’d grabbed his arm and visions flooded in his mind._

_It was like the first one, except the view was lower down. Was this what the girl was seeing? How was any of this possible? It was way too complex to be a dream at this point. The camera went up and Connor saw.. a blank wall. “Please…” The voice echoed in his head. “Read it… Read it…” Connor didn’t know how, but his thirium scanner popped into the girls vision and he heard an audible gasp. Was that her? Did she have the scanners too?_

_Numbers were written on the wall in thirium, but it had dried over a week ago. What did they mean? Was it just random numbers?_

_In the corner of the view, mostly blurred by static, Connor saw two people, dragging children away. A pair of feet suddenly appeared in front of the camera, then-_

**_Beep!_ **

Connor yelped, jumping upright. He was on the sofa, in the dark, no Sumo or Hank to be seen. A pop up said he’d received a new report of a new murder.. Unknown death count? Was it a massacre? “Daddy?” Connor called out, but the house was silent. “Daddy!?” Not even Sumo made an audible noise.

He shuffled around, pushing the no-longer-frozen bag of peas off his left leg and kicking his duvet to the floor. Hank said not to walk too much, but his brain was overwhelming him with the _need_ to get a hug. His nightmare hadn’t really set in yet, nor the fact that this new case came in at 5am and it was only sent out because it was urgent; he just really didn’t want to be alone right now. “Sumo?” He tried, but he wasn’t in his dog bed.

The bedroom door was shut. Since when did Hank ever shut it? Connor pushed it open, stumbling into the bedroom with the door’s momentum. The noise made Sumo jolt up which in turn made Hank jump, grumbling a profanity under his breath when he saw it was just Connor in the doorway. “What?” He asked, sounding like he just swallowed a bucket of gravel.

“I want a cuddle.”

Hank frowned, blinking to try and stay awake. “What? Connor, go back to bed.. We’ll cuddle in the morning, I don’t even want to know what time it is.” Hank lay down and tried to go back to sleep, sighing deeply.

 “But daddy-“

“ _Go to sleep,_ Connor…”

Connor stayed in the doorway, waiting for attention. He knew crying tended to work, but that felt a little bit cruel to fool Hank into thinking he was upset at 5 in the morning… Oh well. Connor started to sniff, increasing the sensitivity around his eyes which made them start to water. Sumo lifted his head but could see through his façade and lay back down. Hank was less lucky, trying to ignore the soft whimpers before he gave in and sat up. “What are you crying about?”

“I had another bad dream.” Hank sighed. “I-it was the dead children again.”

That perked him up. “Alright.. come here, get into bed with me. Have a daddy cuddle.”

Connor rushed for the bed, jumping up and quickly snuggling under the duvet next to Hank, smiling widely as he was pulled into his arms and he received a kiss on the forehead. Connor closed his eyes and tried to hide in Hank’s top so he couldn’t see the tears were fake, trying to relax again. A notification came in reminding him that the report had arrived and Connor whined, wondering if his nightmare was related to the case. “Daddy we have a case.”

Hank muttered something rude under his breath. “Great. Just _great.”_ He sat up and Connor tried holding onto him but Hank made him let go. “Let me get dressed first, then I’ll help you, alright? I’m fucking tired, it’s a Friday morning so I’m starving after eating fucking insect food for dinner.”

Connor let him go, hiding under sheets instead. He shuffled down the bed until he was beside Sumo and pressed against his side, feeling the dog’s warmth despite being unable to feel his fur. He shouldn’t have brought up the case, he’d made Hank mad and he probably wasn’t going to give him the comfort he wanted. A little bit of him told him he was being selfish, but the other 90% said to get grumpy back at Hank. “Connor, come out, you need to get dressed.” No movement. “It’s too early for this, now get out before I drag you.” _No._ “Connor!”

Hank reached under the covers and pulled Connor out by the ankles. Connor yelled in protest, gripping at the sheets before hanging limply upside down and thrashing his arms around. “For fucks sake Connor it’s 5am! Just calm down!”

“No! I want a hug! I want a hug right now!”

“Seriously..? Fine then, kick all you want, but I’m dressing you and then we’re going to this stupid crime scene.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crime scene and a deep chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a long one, but after the crime scene the little snippets were too short for a chapter of their own so I put them in here!

“A human? Really?” Hank asked Ben, holding Connor in his arms.

Ben had met them outside the derelict house, briefing them on what was inside. In the Connor had initially ignored Hank for the whole ankle pulling, but after being left alone with his thoughts he got scared about what his nightmare meant again, asking why he kept getting them if they were meant to be fake, but it had been genuine enough for Hank to start worrying. Again. Connor sucked on his thumb, compliantly listening to the brief. “Well the blood sure as hell ain’t blue. We haven’t got any info on whether this guy lived here or if he was squatting, but it looks like our killer probably killed him to hide the androids and buy himself some time.”

“Any signs of a struggle?”

“Can’t really tell, but I’m sure your android can.” He looked at the trembling boy, a look in his eyes making Ben hesitate. “Er- I mean your son. I mean we got no ID and the guy had nothing on him but we got forensics on the scene and exploring upstairs in case there’s a wallet or a licence sitting around somewhere; although considering the track record with the other killings, its likely they already thought of that possibility.”

 “Alright, thanks Ben.” Hank turned towards the house and put Connor down on the porch. “I know I pulled on it but is your ankle okay to walk around?” Connor nodded. “You going to talk to me? I thought your nightmare might’ve woken you up, but you’re silent as a mouse.”

“I don’t wanna be here.”

“Yeah, me neither, but it’s part of the job unfortunately. We’ll try and be quick, yeah? Scan our guy, try and count how many kids there are, and hopefully that’s it.”

Ben hadn’t told them what state the kids were in, he just said they were in the kitchen and due to their ‘nature’ it was hard to tell who was who. Connor simply agreed and walked into the house, continuing his silence. It was more of a lack of knowing what to say, because these scenes were the same, and Connor was tired of asking Hank to take him somewhere else because he wouldn’t, so in fairness he had given up at this point.

The human was in the middle of the room, splayed on their back and staring lifelessly up at the ceiling. Three bullets to the chest, a white shirt turned crimson. Connor felt something similar to dread go up his spine but he ignored it, crouching beside the large pool of blood. He checked to see if Hank was nearby before dipping a finger into it and pressing it to his tongue. Urgh, it tasted so metallic… Klaus Evergreen, 33 years old, no criminal record, time of death about 10 hours ago.

Connor looked around at the furniture, all covered in a thick layer of dust. Except for the floor being perfectly clear of any -Connor guessed the killer must have swept to get rid of any footprints- nothing else looked touched. There was so much dust, something had to be left behind… Something!

He kept wandering, looking at the blood splatters on the back wall and on the carpet. The angle was from the doorway, but Klaus would’ve been standing. He scanned his body, but no evidence except for shirt fibres in the bullet wounds could be found; the shirt was protruding outwards rather than in, so he must have been shot from behind..

Hank was stood in the front doorway, talking to Ben. Connor frowned and tried to build a simulation, but something uncomfortable sparked in head and created a sharp pain behind his eyes. “Agh!” He cried, losing balance and falling backwards. “Ow..”

“You okay, Connor?” Hank called. “Is it your ankle?”

Connor tried the simulation software again, but he couldn’t get the image to focus. “My sim.. sim.. thingy where I watch stuff happen. It’s not working.”

 “The simulation software?”

“Yeah..” Connor tried again, working in a much lower resolution that he was used to, but it was enough. “Wait I think I got something..”

Hank came over to support him when he stood back up, just in case he collapsed again. Connor leant back into the touch, feeling a little dizzy during the simulation. “Well I don’t know why the man was here, but he must have heard the door open and tried to turn around, but he was shot before he could see them and landed on his back as a result.” Connor looked towards the kitchen, the clean trail of ground leading there. “So the androids are in there?”

 “Yeah, do you want to go together?”

Connor nodded and held Hank’s hand, following him in. A message greeted them, written in fading thirium, ‘too many cooks spoil the broth’. “Fucking Christ.” Hank cursed, trying to shield Connor from what he saw but Connor just moved more to the side to see round.

A large pot was on the hob, stained with thirium that still dribbled down the sides. Was.. was the thirium boiling? A hand hung limpy over the edge and Connor took a couple steps closer. He was too short for this! He managed to sneak away from Hank and stood on a kitchen chair to get a better angle. Do a quick scan… oh god- no… _no! “Connor, help the others.”_

The screech that came out of Connor didn’t sound human; he fell backwards off the chair, landed on his back, scrambled up, and sprinted out the kitchen before Hank even registered he’d fallen. “Someone grab him! Don’t let him leave!” Hank yelled.

Connor’s pursuit program kicked into gear, telling him the quickest way out. Three people started to chase inside but Connor was already at the front door. Two in the yard tried catching him but it seemed nobody ever thought that Connor would just run between their legs. He screamed at them all to go away, running in a blind state of panic and trying to evaluate his escape.

_Option 1: Under the patrol car, chance of capture ???_

_Option 2: Under Hank’s car, chance of capture ???_

_Option 3: Keep running ahead, chance of capture ???_

_Option 4: Cross the road, chance of capture ???_

This wasn’t helping! Connor took the nearest option and skidded underneath the patrol car, pulling in his all his limbs so nobody could reach. He wanted to kick their reaching hands, but they’d probably grab his ankle or foot. “Don’t touch me! Please go away! _Please!”_ Connor sobbed into the tarmac road, wailing as loud as he could to try and make people retreat.

He was aware of Hank calling to him too, somewhere in the flurry of voices that were all trying to talk to him. “ _Stop!”_ Connor begged, “ _Stop it!”_

He wanted them all to stop talking, to stop trying to grab him. He wanted to remove the image of what he just saw out of his head. He wanted to forget the nightmare from last night. He wanted to forget all of it! Being a child was a stupid idea, the whole thing had been pretty miserable so far and Hank’s promises of letting him have fun hadn’t happened. The park didn’t count, he didn’t want to remember what an embarrassment he’d been in front of potential friends. He didn’t want to think about his stupid imagination and his stupid play worlds he’d created with dolls that didn’t even belong to him. He didn’t want any of it anymore… This was supposed to be fun… Childhood wasn’t meant to hurt like this… “Did he calm down?”

“No, he cried himself to exhaustion. Not a nice experience..”

Two officers stood in the road facing opposite directions to watch for oncoming cars while Hank lay flat on his stomach trying to reach Connor under the car. It was still only 6am, but just in case.“Quite a smart move to go under a car, nobody would dare move it and clearly you’re struggling to reach.” Ben commented, stood to the side.

Hank managed to grab his jacket and started to gently pull, feeling bad for dragging him across the ground. “Well he’s a smart kid. I knew looking at a bunch of androids torn into pieces and put in a pot would probably scare him, but not _that_ badly.”

He sat on the pavement and cradled Connor in his lap, brushing some dirt and dust off his clothes. The gestures woke him back up, a lot more subdued but in pain. “You back with us?”

Connor looked over Hank’s shoulder and froze, quickly looking away and covering his eyes. “Daddy I-I don’t want to go back in. I-I really don’t wanna anymore.”

“Trust me son you made that fairly clear. Was it the bodies? Don’t like seeing them.. uh.. chopped up?”

“I recognised them.” … “Th-they were in my dream, one of them spoke to me. They still had their bodies b-barely a few hours ago. My dream from earlier, they were in it! They said it was too late for them. I-in the kitchen.. O-o-one of them…” Connor started to cry again. “It’s my fault they’re torn apart, it’s my fault! it’s probably my fault they’re dead too. It’s my fault they’re in that pot!”

His crying didn’t last long, mostly from frustration, he just took in shaky breaths and let them out in short pants, still covering his eyes with his hands. “Con.. first of all you and I need to have a serious talk now about this whole situation we’re in, and second of all you’re going to need to explain more about that dream of yours-“ Connor whimpered. “-Later on. Then we’re going to have to go into the office because..”

“I know how it works, daddy. Just cus I’m a kid doesn’t mean I can get out of making statements.. You just give them fancy words so kids don’t feel bad.”

“Yeah, that. We’ll go in late, we need to get you home, rested, fed, and then we’ll take Sumo for a relaxing walk to the dog park for a little bit. How does that sound? You want to do that?”

“I just want you, daddy.” Connor turned round in Hank’s lap and hugged the large man, burying his face into his shirt and wetting the material with his tears.

They definitely needed to have a talk. While Connor still seemed to have the short bursts of maturity left. For now Hank gave him a proper bear hug, even wrapping the jacket over him so that Connor was completely hidden underneath. Each crime scene only got worse and Connor really didn’t have a whole lot of happy outings to counteract things of this level; Hank needed to take his dad abilities to the next level and completely spoil the android. “I’m right here, son.” He kissed the top of his head. “Let’s go home.”

~*~

Connor was getting licked by three different dogs of varying sizes, and while he was giggling uncontrollably, the owner of the three dogs was frantically trying to make them leave him be. It was certainly a mood change from a couple hours ago, and Hank needed that reassurance. He’d seen a kid break down like that twice before, both from when he worked on the red ice epidemic. One had been tied up in their bedroom all beaten and starving, the other was high themselves, forced to inhale it by their parents. The latter one died in hospital from shock…

Except Hank’s son wasn’t under drugs, the breakdown was a cause of stress. Stress that Hank let him be exposed to; he knew he wasn’t to blame, even as a four year old Connor had a paycheck waiting for him at the end of the month, this was still his job, but Hank wished things could be different. He’d accepted his ‘fate’ of being kidnapped now, but the nightmares and parent-turned-therapist weren’t in the job description. Neither was being a parent but he skimmed over that now. “Connor c’mere!” He called, “you’re filthy!”

The boy escaped from the dogs and stood in front of Hank, letting him clean off the dog slobber from his skin. Connor thanked him and tried to run off, but Hank quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. He debated bringing it up now, but he decided it really wasn’t a conversation for a dog park. “Never mind.” Hank let him go.

“Daddy are you okay?”

Hank made a ‘hmph’ noise. “I’m absolutely fine, it’s you I’m worried about. Before we get to the office, you and I need to have a little chat. A grown up chat. N-now I know you’re not a grown up anymore, but I think you know what I mean.”

“No?”

_He’s too far gone.._ Hank thought, _this wasn’t kind anymore_. “It means we’re going to talk about something children aren’t usually involved in, but I’m making an exception for you. We need to talk about this morning and what’s going to happen at the office.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later, I just think we need to set down a few ground rules and now that you’re more childlike I need to re-explain what you’re supposed to be doing, and what we’re actually going to do.”

“Daddy I don’t understand, you’re scaring me.”

Hank put a tennis ball into his hand and then ruffled his hair. “Please don’t worry about it, Con. Go play with Sumo, I’ll keep an eye on ya. Try to avoid too much dog slobber, I washed you only yesterday.”

Connor grinned, a mischievous look. “No promises!”

~*~

He ended up having to change clothes because they stank of multiple wet dogs and their biscuit breath.

Wrapped up in a blanket and hugging his dog plushies, Connor was looking up at Hank with a curious expression, his head slightly tilted to the left. It was like he was trying to make things harder to talk about, because Hank just wanted to coo about how cute he looked, not discuss murder and nightmares. Sumo lay in his bed, head tucked under his front paws, back leg twitching as he dreamed.

Hank got a chair from the kitchen table and put it in front of the sofa where Connor sat. He sat on it backwards, leaning against the chair’s back. “I don’t really want to have this talk, Connor, but it’s one that needs to be had.”

“What is it?”

“Well.. okay, change of plan, I’m going to ask you some questions first. You gotta be 100% honest with me.” Connor nodded. “Okay, something obvious to begin with. Why are you a child?”

“Cus we’re gonna catch a killer, and I said it would be a good idea if I became one; so I did.”

“Right. Do you remember just a couple weeks ago? Not just the events; the way you talked, the way you behaved, those kind of things. Do you remember if they were different?”

Connor hesitated. “Daddy this is like Cyberlife again, I thought you didn’t mind?”

“I don’t, I promise, I just want to know if you remember.”

“I do..? I mean- I could say more words and I cried a lot less. Why?” Connor was too curious for his own good. “If this is about me being more like a human child, you said-“

“Connor! Just _trust me,_ for five minutes! That’s all I ask.” Connor shut up, tightening his blanket around himself. “I’ll get to your questions in a moment, and if we don’t answer them then you can ask them at the end.”

“Then get on with it!”

“ _Connor!”_ The boy chucked his dog plush but it hit the chair and landed softly on the ground. “If you start giving me attitude this is going to be a very long chat and neither of us are going to be happy by the end of it. My _point_ is that I want you to stop having these nightmares and be my happy little boy; I don’t get to see that side of you very much and we keep getting interrupted by all these cases. All I want to do, is ask your opinion; I don’t want you going to these crime scenes anymore, Con, because they’re scaring you beyond belief and you even recognised some of them earlier today. That’s just not right. These dreams you’re having might mean something, and after we check that out I don’t want you suffering anymore.

“I mean, do you enjoy still going to these crime scenes? Even when you were the most adult you could be on your first day you still screamed and cried at seeing an android commit suicide. You’ve seen that before, like even when you fell off that roof into a dumpster, you didn’t freak out you listened to your programming and did a.. questionable choice, but you still did it. You weren’t fully efficient then, so what are you now?”

“B-but it’s my job. Fowler wouldn’t let me stop.”

“You wouldn’t object to not going? You don’t want to go?”

“Crime scenes are scary. I don’t know why; it’s not the blood, it’s not the weird messages, or even bodies in pieces. I don’t know! I just- I don’t know…” _Stop avoiding the damn question,_ Hank thought.

“Are you afraid to die, Connor?”

Connor was certain Hank was thinking back to the last time he asked that question, a gun aimed at his forehead, and he had given Hank a somewhat cryptic answer in return. This time, he just said it, plain and simple. “Yes.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay okay one more angst and then things get super fluffy. ~~For like a week and a half but ssh~~ Hope you guys enjoyed! Yh yh yh anyone GMT or beyond knows this update is late.. but uni has started again so ew, work! Might have to slow down updates, I really hope I don't have to do that to you guys :(
> 
> For now, I'll see you Monday! All your kudos and comments fuel my enthusiasm ~~and maybe sparks up plot points~~ so do keep leaving those too  <3333


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The dick known as Fowler interrogates tiny cinnamon roll

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey loOK I UPLOADED ON TIME TODAY 
> 
> ~~I'm procrastinating going food shopping. I don't want to go alone~~

Editing

 

The office had its usual crowd, a few people sat at their desks but most were away working cases. Gavin was messing around on his phone as always, feet up on his desk. Connor waved hello but he didn’t get a wave back. Hank stopped by their desks, seeming to be looking for something. “You wait here.” Hank ruffled Connor’s hair, who had been walking beside him and holding hands. “I need to speak to Fowler privately, I won’t be long.”

“Okay daddy.” Hank smiled and left for Fowler’s office, walking in without a knock.

Connor had other plans; he walked over to Gavin’s desk and pulled the chair from the desk opposite round. He then climbed on top and tried to peer at what Gavin was doing on his phone but the detective quickly turned his phone away and turned off the screen. He raised an eyebrow at Connor, who seemed to be quite contempt with where he was. “Can I help you?”

“Just saying hello.”

A pause. “Hi.” Connor beamed, leaning even closer. “Seriously kid, what do you want?”

“What are you doing?” Gavin ignored him, just going back on his phone in the hopes that Connor would leave but he had to admit the kid was persistent. “Who you talking to?”

“My sister.”

“What about?”

“None of your damn business.”

Connor got a peek anyway, and saw messages about breathing and a lot of curse words about children. Gavin turned his screen away further but Connor kept leaning forward, wishing he could know the context. His sister wished he was with her for some company because he was better than someone who seemed to be nicknamed ‘deadbeat Peter’, but Connor didn’t see Gavin’s reply. “Stop watching me!”

“Is your sister pr-“ Connor was interrupted by Hank lifting him out the office chair, making the boy squeal in surprise. “Hey!”

“Don’t go invading other people’s privacy, Con, that’s rude.”

“But it’s my job!”

“Only if they’ve done something wrong.”

“I was just leaving.” Gavin hissed, taking his legs off the his desk and standing up. “Family emergency.”

He stalked off, Connor trying to reach out for him but he couldn’t reach. He tried calling his name, but the detective just hunched his shoulders and ignored him. Hank didn’t really mention it, taking Connor round to where the interrogation rooms were. Connor hugged around Hank’s neck, resting his cheek on his shoulder. “Who are we interr.. terr.. question… talking to?”

Hank held Connor in one arm, using his free hand to gentle stroke Connor’s cheek; something he usually did to soothe him. “You. I tried to convince Fowler to do it somewhere a little more friendly looking, but since you’re an android he still doesn’t believe you’re a kid and wants to see it first hand.”

“What-“

“I’ll be right behind the glass, you know where. I could turn off the mirror, that way you can see me.”

“But daddy I want to be with you!” Connor’s grip tightened when he saw Fowler sat there on his phone, a detective Connor didn’t recognise -but did scan, her name was Rebecca- was sat in a chair behind the glass. “Daddy, no!”

“I know, I’m sorry Con, but if you co-operate then Fowler might understand. Be honest, okay? I told him that I adopted you, we’ve had that discussion already, so you can tell him absolutely anything. Whatever he asks, you answer it.” Fowler was _not_ happy about the adoption either, but Hank’s feeble attempts at telling him it wouldn’t get in the way of their investigation reduced his irritation.

“Okay..” Hank was about to enter but Connor grabbed some of his jacket in an attempt to stop him opening the door. “What if I refuse to say anything without you with me?”

“It’s not worth the trouble, Con, I’ve seen enough interrogations to know that. You may be four years old- or.. one and a bit, but Fowler won’t believe you. Just be you, and if you really do start getting scared then you can ask for me. He might listen at that point; he may be a bit of a dick but he knows what he’s doing.. most of the time.”

They went in and Hank put him down on the chair, handing him his Pippin plush then gently kissing his forehead. He noticed the yellow LED, not even soothed by his touch, but Hank had already stretched Fowler far enough to even make him talk to Connor and _maybe_ consider dropping their investigations and focusing solely on the ‘field work’, so he had to leave Connor alone and go behind the one way mirror to keep their agreement.

Fowler tucked away his phone and pulled out a pen and paper, clicking the pen and scribbling down a few words. Connor was too low down to read them, the paper was just below his eye level. “So Connor, Hank tells me you’ve changed since we last met. He wants you to stop going to crime scenes because they’re hindering the investigation more than they help, despite the fact that you’re a walking forensics lab and can see thirium traces or fingerprints that we immediately can’t. What’s your opinion?”

Connor had to hesitate, processing what he was just asked. He understood the question, sort of, but he didn’t really know how to reply immediately. He looked to Hank’s direction for help, but all he saw was his own reflection. “I don’t know.” Hank facepalmed behind the glass. “I understand why I should go, but I get nightmares about every one. Most of them are fake, I know, but they’re really scary. I’m really really tired and I have lots of naps and I know I’m old enough not to nap but I keep napping cus I’m not sleeping and I’m not sleeping cus of the crime scenes.”

“You’re a detective, why are you so scared? You assured me you’d be an adult in a child’s body.”

Connor frowned. He did no such thing. “I told you there might be cons.. conse.. problems, but you didn’t want to hear them. I know what I am and who I was but I like being a kid! Kids are scared of crime scenes. I’m not scared of blood or the bodies, I’m afraid of being one.” _Daddy said be completely honest,_ Connor reminded himself. “I don’t want to die.”

“You’re probably not going to die, Connor, but you knew that risk when we agreed to do this experiment. You’re not getting out nearly enough. Maybe you ought to start wearing that uniform Cyberlife gave you, that would really catch their eye.” Connor tightened his grip around his dog, looking at the mirror again. “Hey! Eyes on me.”

He froze up, looking back at Fowler with worried eyes. He wanted to leave now. He wanted to sit in Hank’s lap. He wanted to go to the aquarium. “I-I just want to do field work. I wanna have fun.”

“This isn’t supposed to be fun, Connor, you’re supposed to be using tactics to grab the killer’s attention, and your map should be showing results by now. What’s the hold up? You wrapped up cases so quickly before and now this one is all but grinding to a halt! You want to explain that to me, kid? What’s so different!? You got your software, you got your hardware, you’re exactly as before only smaller!”

Connor started to whimper, desperately wanting to look Hank’s way on the off chance he’d actually see him, but he was scared of Fowler yelling. The enhanced hearing sucked. “I-I-I-“

“Stop stuttering and give me a damn straight answer! I’m sick of getting no results, and it’s because you’re not pulling your weight! What reason could there possibly be to let our once best worker not work on scene anymore!? Evidence collection will slow down, we’ll have to wait for actual forensics, we’ll have to manually search around for things ourselves. It’s 2039 god dammit! I may be old but I know good technology when I see it and you’re it!”

“I want my daddy..” Connor whimpered, starting to cry.

“You said it yourself these feelings are just bits of code trying to override you, so why are you letting it!?”

“I-I can’t help it! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I really really tried but I’m sorry! I don’t wanna feel like this I don’t wanna cry all the time but that’s all I’m doing! I want it to be over too!” Connor curled up small, hiding his face in the dog plush, smelling Sumo’s scent on it. “I just want others to stop going missing and let them take me. I don’t wanna die but I don’t want others to die instead, but these crimes scene make me so scared but also really det.. deter.. strong! I want to get caught but if all I do is get nightmares and have naps I can’t!”

Fowler scribbled onto his paper, writing notes that were practically illegible except to himself. “What is it about these nightmares you hate so much? It’s part of being a cop, sometimes you dream about a dead body or two.”

“No, the other ones..” Fowler hissed at him to keep talking but Connor was too frightened. “I want my daddy now.”

His stress levels were at 70%, LED red. He didn’t know if children could self destruct, and if they could then Connor knew not even Fowler would want to witness Connor committing what was essentially suicide. “I know Hank adopted you but he’s not coming in.”

“But I want him! I’m not saying anything until you let him in!”

Fowler clenched a fist around his pen, glaring at the boy. “For fuck’s sake Jeffrey let me in. You’re killing me out here!” Hank called from outside the door, his handprint not granting him access. “The kid’s scared out of his wits and calming him down ain’t easy, especially if someone else tries doing it. Just look at him!”

Fowler let the crying continue for a few moments, then sighed in defeat. He waved for Rebecca to let him in and Hank rushed to Connor’s side, whipping him up into a hug that hid him from Fowler’s sight. “It’s okay Con, it’s okay I got you.”

“Daddy I don’t want to do this anymore! I wanna go home!”

“I know, I know.. none of this arguing was what we agreed, I’m so sorry, I’ll try and make it up to you as best I can. We just need to talk about your nightmares and then we can leave. You might be seeing something important, and the sooner we talk about it the sooner we can leave, yeah? He’s not gonna hurt you.. I’ve got you now.”

Connor sniffed. Hank’s words helped to calm him down, whispered into his ear, spoken slowly like a lullaby. He felt his muscles relax, loosening his grip on Hank’s sleeves. “Can I watch cartoons?”

Hank chuckled and kissed Connor’s cheek. “You can watch as many as you want.” Fowler made a displeased noise behind them which made Connor tense again. “Just ignore him, we’ll be out of here soon. You ready to talk? You can sit on my lap this time.”

Connor wiped his eyes on Hank’s sleeves and nodded. “Then we can be happy?”

That broke Hank’s heart. Connor was still a smart kid, that wasn’t going to change and he probably would be one even without having been an adult prior, but Hank wished he wasn’t _that_ aware. “Yeah, then we can be happy.. no more tears.”

He held Connor close in his lap when he sat down opposite Fowler, getting a look that was halfway between anger and pity. Hank had already been chewed out earlier about getting too close to Connor and his game of ‘pretend’ had become a little too real, but even Fowler realised that wasn’t a conversation to have in front of Connor. “Let’s make this brief, for both our sakes.” Fowler spoke, a new tone to his voice. “You _recognised_ the kids in the pot from earlier today?” Connor nodded. “How?”

Connor took in a deep breath and explained the three nightmares he’d had of the dead children, all grey eyed and shot in the head with various types of disfigurement. He couldn’t remember if he had seen the triplets or the hanging girl in his dreams because if he had then they hadn’t been disfigured, and nor had the circle of toddlers but Connor knew their faces. “You record everything don’t you? Can’t you just upload these dreams? If they’re not actually dreams and are some sort of communication then you must store them somewhere. Your memories are perfect.”

“I don’t know.. I haven’t tried thinking about them so they might be a little corrupt.”

“But can we upload them?”

“In theory… I can try.” Connor closed his eyes, watching the nightmares fly past in his vision. “They’re there.”

“Send them to me.”

A warning popped up in Connor’s vision: low battery. He’d almost forgotten that he’d been woken early by a case, and then he’d had his panic outburst, then had a discussion with Hank... he hoped today would be the last of that kind, he wanted to be like other kids his age and actually go more than a few days without a single nap; run on energy that wasn’t spent crying. “Uhm, it’ll put me into sleep mode if I do.” Connor opened his eyes. “My batteries are really low.”

“Do it anyway.”

Connor looked up at Hank. “Will it hurt?” Hank asked, rubbing Connor’s tummy.

“No.”

Hank nodded. “Then you ought to do it, let everyone else look into it for us.”

Connor got himself comfortable and leant back against Hank’s chest, letting out a little sigh before he closed his eyes again. He felt the energy to even keep his mouth closed or hold his grip on his toy leave as he put it all into sending and compressing his memories into a file for Fowler to receive. Once it was sent, Connor’s LED flashed a couple times before it turned off, then came back as an almost empty progress bar.

Fowler said they could leave and Hank got up silently, cradling Connor so he was stable. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Hank.” The lieutenant paused in the doorway. “Don’t get selfish.”

_Tsk._ “Goodbye, Jeffrey.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yaY THE LAST OF THE ANGST FOR A WHILE. The long awaited aquarium chapter will come on Friday!! Then I got a 'day out' planned ~~then a chapter of harsh angst but it's necessary for the plot okay~~ and well anything after that I haven't written so who knows. I'm back to uni now so I'm going to have plenty of time to day dream when I shouldn't xD
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed! See you on friday <3


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AQUARIUM TIME

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important notice at the bottom! Please give it a read <3

A few days had passed since the ‘interview’, and Connor was already in higher spirits. It turned out he hadn’t seen either of them in his dreams, most likely because he didn’t have the dreams until after he’d investigated them both. As for the thirium numbers on the walls or even just the rest of the children, people were still working on that.

Connor wasn’t. He’d been to the park twice, once into the playground where he even met Emily again and listened to Hank when he was told to come home. At night he shared the bed with Hank, something they’d done actually since Connor first fainted on him -unless he fell asleep somewhere else beforehand- and that seemed to always keep his nightmares at bay. The bed was certainly big enough, and Hank missed having somebody to lie next to. Sumo didn’t count.

Today was the much awaited aquarium day, the same one where somebody went missing, but even Hank wasn’t worried about that. “Come on, let’s _go!”_ Connor whined, patting excitedly at the car door.

After Connor had gotten out at the hanging girl’s crime scene he’d turned on the child lock in the door so all he could do was take off his straps and wait for Hank to let him out. He hadn’t tried climbing in the front yet, Hank didn’t know what would happen if Connor figured out that was a possibility, the kid would be unstoppable. “Give me a second, I’m still parking!” Hank laughed, turning off the engine. “You’ll need to calm down if ya want me to trust you not to wander off.”

“Yeah yeah promise!” Connor was bouncing up and down on his knees, his patting getting more aggressive.

Was this the new Connor? Excited for absolutely everything? Hank was exhausted once Connor went to bed and usually went with him; he’d wake up fairly docile but once they went out to do something or even Connor just picked up his toys- suddenly his energy level would be turned up to maximum and it would stay that way until dinner time when he would then crash and be asleep by eight o clock. It made a change to the late nights of cuddling up into Hank’s side and whining about not being tired because he’d been napping during the day, but Hank wished the energy would tone down a little.

As soon as his feet touched the ground he tried to run for the entrance but Hank had a tight hold on his arm. “Nope! You’ll get yourself run over if you’re not careful. Hold my hand until we get there, okay?” If he kept this up, Hank might buy one of those child leashes he used to hate on so much; now he saw how they were a parent’s literal lifesaver.

“Well hurry up!”

Connor had been testing Hank’s buttons too, stretching what sarcasm and attitude he could use without getting into trouble. He’d decided it depended on Hank’s mood. He tried pulling Hank faster to the doors, but Hank gave an authorative “oi!” that stopped him trying anymore, letting Hank lead the way. It wasn’t even that far, they were in the parent child parking, an essential Hank also never realised was useful; Cole seemed so well behaved in comparison.

Hank read the prices and quickly grinded to a halt. He crouched down and licked a couple fingers, then fiddled with Connor’s hair until his fringe covered his LED. “Daddy what are you doing?” Connor cringed away from the wet fingers, pushing at Hank’s hand.

“Under 5s get in free but that doesn’t apply to androids since your model is so new, so we’re hiding your LED so that they think you’re really four years old. You can change it back once we’re through alright? I didn’t bring a hat since we’re indoors.” Connor pouted, but he let Hank hide the little blue light. “Alright, let’s go.”

Connor held his hand again and more calmly stood in the queue, rocking back and forth on his heels to keep moving. “Where’s ya coin, Connor? You haven’t played with it for a while.”

“Forgot.”

They reached the front and Connor tried walking a little further ahead, hearing music and seeing the edge of a tank but nothing inside. “Heya, one adult and an under 5 please.”

“Sure thing sir.” Hm, a human cashier. “Hey little guy, you excited to see the fish?” Connor had caught his eye and he didn’t answer immediately, but then smiled and nodded enthusiastically. “I suggest you go see the octopi, they’re my favourite.”

“Is it real?” Hank asked, thinking about the couple android zoos popping up in their state. “What with the android zoos, have they reached aquariums?”

“Nope, everything in here is real! Even the staff.” The cashier smiled and handed Hank a wristband for Connor to wear. “Follow the route on your wristband; same fish, just a different direction to keep things a little bit emptier. Enjoy your visit!”

Connor let Hank put on the little green wristband before releasing him. “Don’t go round any corners without me, okay?”

He was ignored. “Daddy look!” Connor darted to the nearest tank, filled with jellyfish. “What are they!?”

“Eh? Can’t you just scan em?”

“Yeah but I want you to tell me instead. That’s what daddies do, right? So what are they!?”

Connor chose Hank’s knowledge over his own infinite database.. that felt oddly heart-warming. “Well in that case.. they’re called jellyfish.” Hank put a hand on Connor’s shoulder, rubbing gently. “They don’t have any brains and function on just a few nerves down in their tentacles. Now this may be an old myth at this point, but I’m pretty sure that some jellyfish can live forever.”

“Forever!?” Connor gasped, looking at them all as if he would be able to tell which was oldest. “That’s longer than an android..”

Hank looked up at the sign and saw they were in the deep sea zone, so not very many types were on display, mostly jellyfish and rays. Connor ran to the next one, but the tank looked empty. “Where are- woah!”

A ray rose up from the sand followed by three others, creating a small whirlwind of sand. Connor stumbled back, thinking the sand would hit him but the flurry calmed and floated back down. “How’d they do that!?”

“Camouflage. They hide under the sand from predators so they don’t get eaten.”

“Eaten!? Who would to eat a-“ Connor looked a the board next to him. “A stingray!? That’s just mean!”

“That’s the way of the ocean, Connor. Some fish eat other fish to survive, and the little fish they eat eat plants.”

“Stingrays are big fish though.”

“But the even bigger fish eat them. Like sharks! Stingrays eat the little fish, like shrimp. They’re just in the middle of a bigger chain.” Hank was extremely grateful for the information board that Connor didn’t seem to be bothered reading.

“Do you humans eat stingrays too?”

“I mean.. you can, but not very many people do. You wouldn’t find it in a seafood restaurant at least.”

“I wish I could eat. Food looks really tasty.” Connor looked up at Hank, then moved on to the third tank that had more jellyfish in, this one going up through the ceiling. “That’s a big jellyfish. Are they made of jelly?”

Hank wanted to laugh, but Connor’s face made him think the question was genuine. “No, they just look like jelly. Wouldn’t want to eat one, they’d sting your mouth and that would be super painful.”

The next room was filled with smaller aquariums, each one filled with other tropical fish. Children all swarmed around the lower ones and Connor tried to get a look too, but most of them were older and taller. He stood in the middle of the room and tried to see the higher ones, but the fish were small and even his scanners struggled to catch one and zoom in.

He went over to Hank who was looking at the clownfish, muttering the word ‘mine’ over and over to himself in a funny voice. He chuckled, then seemed to realise where he was and looked down to see Connor looking up at him. “You alright?”

“I can’t see any of the fish, I’m too low down. Can I sit on your shoulders?”

“What’s the magic word?”

“Please!”

Connor squealed in joy as Hank whipped him up into the air. He grabbed onto strands of grey hair as he was lowered down onto his shoulders, giggling happily then gasping at all the fish. “They’re really pretty!” Connor pointed at some blue tangs, making Hank walk over there. “Daddy daddy go over there! I wanna see them!”

He either got bored really quickly by each tank or kept getting distracted by more colourful fish. Hank probably took him to each tank at least two or three times, but Connor finally stopped and pointed at a final one, now the fourth visiting it. “This one reminds me of you, daddy.” He pointed to a stripy yellow and white fish.

“Why’s that? Cus I wear stripy shirts?”

Connor giggled. “No, silly! Cus it’s my favourite! Favourite fish-“ he pointed, “-favourite person!” He patted Hank’s head.

Something unintelligible came out of Hank’s mouth, trying to form a coherent sentence but Connor interrupted before he could properly comment. “Next room!” He patted Hank’s head again. “Onwards!”

Except for other kids on their parents’ shoulders, Connor was higher than everyone else and he loved it. He was the highest in the tunnels and could touch the glass, luring fish towards him. He saw all the higher tanks, all the different fish that preferred swimming at the top instead of where pairs of eyes stared at them at a child’s level.

About halfway round was a seating area/café, so Hank ordered himself a coffee and the two sat down for a drink. Connor still looked around the room with curious eyes and Hank wondered if he was scanning everything or nothing at all; the questions he’d been asking could’ve easily been answered by a quick internet search or a scan of the creature, but he still asked Hank anyway. Was it the child programming at work that made Connor less scanner-crazy?

A beep of Hank’s phone made them both flinch. “Work?” Connor asked between sips of his thirium pouch.

Hank took it out and saw a file had been attached to the email. A case report.. didn’t Connor get it too? He opened it out of curiosity and cringed at the images that came up. It was a wrapped up report rather than the usual open ones so crime scene photos were included. Two girls, a 500 and 300 model, holding hands, one with roses in their eyes and the other violets; beside them written in their thirium were the words ‘you don’t know me, but I know you’. “Yeah, they just finished at a new scene. Looks like our guy has turned to poetry now… Really gets under ya skin, but that’s not our concern anymore.”

Connor looked like he was smiling, but Hank couldn’t see his mouth so it was hard to tell. He swung his feet under the table which made him bounce. “You’re not upset we’re not there?”

“They’re doing fine without us. So I get to have fun, and the case is still being solved!”

Another ping came through on his phone and Hank saw it was a message from Fowler. He said their video analyst team said the two girls had been in Connor’s nightmares. It was fair to assume these new bodies were coming from the pile Connor saw the first time. They hadn’t found out how long any of these children had been missing yet since the models all had the same faces so it was hard to tell who was who; so Fowler asked for Connor to come in and scan them. Hank ignored the message; he could see why they’d want him to come in, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

Drinks consumed as the café began to get busy, the next part of the aquarium seemed emptier, a section in the middle for children to sit at. A rock pool, filled with various different plants and shells. Other children Connor’s age grabbed at them, shoving their hands into the wet sand and feeling around. Connor ran over to squeeze in at the end, but he took a much gentler approach. He picked up a piece of coral as if it were priceless porcelain, turning it over in his hands and scanning it. This time he couldn’t ask Hank because he’d retreated to a nearby bench.

This was definitely a child friendly room, more so than the rest, but Connor much preferred looking at things rather than feeling. Unless it was in his mouth for analysis, but when he tried an employee rushed over and knocked it out his hands, scolding him for even trying. It put him off trying much else, he couldn’t really reach because the exciting looking stuff was in the middle where everyone else was. “I can’t pick up anything nice.” Connor grumbled to Hank, climbing onto the bench to sit beside him.

“You want me to make some room?”

“No..” Connor leant on his arm and looked around the room, but this one didn’t have any more tanks; nothing of interest.

The next room was the last one before you passed into the gift shop. Connor’s mouth opened in shock at the size of it; there was a tube in the centre filled with coral and seaweed, brightly coloured fish swimming around them. The entire room was the same, all the walls were clear glass (and sticky fingerprints) with a reef inside. On the far right was a stand alone tank, still fairly large, and it had a small selection of something called ‘Nemo fish’. Hank laughed at it, but the reference went way over Connor’s head. “What’s a Nemo?”

“It’s from a film called Finding Nemo, it came out when I was still in high school. I’m surprised they still keep that reference around, it’s very old now.”

The boy gave the tank a quick look, but the rest of the reef room was far more pretty to look at. Fish flakes floated down from the top, a large shoal of them darting out from their hiding places and nibbling away before anyone else could get to them. Clearly those fish knew where they got fed and when, and it repeated twice more when further flakes floated down. Connor giggled. “Hey daddy, that one eats like you!” There was a fish near the bottom, struggling to eat the flake as it kept floating out of reach.

Hank rolled his eyes. “Thanks kiddo.” Just because of that _one time_ Hank had pasta fall off his fork into his lap… and the few others time… Maybe Hank was getting old, he’d have to wear a napkin in his own home.

They stood together looking into the tank, Hank letting his mind wander and Connor was trying to see the ones hiding at the far back. There were just so many to see! He could happily spend all day watching them; the way they moved their fins, the way their gills opened and close to breathe… Fish were fascinating, they worked so differently and looked so different in all their colours and sizes; some were beautiful and tiny, others were kinda big and ugly.

He sagged, feeling his energy rush come to a crashing end. The bright fish suddenly seemed more.. normal. He looked around and returned to the middle tube, looking at the seaweed and light pink anemones at the bottom, but the spark was gone. “You ready to go home, Con?” Hank asked, putting a hand on his back.

“Mm. Can we go to the shop too?”

“Course! The shop is the best bit.”

Connor beamed and hurried through, going straight for the plush toy section. “Daddy, they have the stripy fish!” He jumped to grab it off the top shelf and then offered it up to Hank to show him. “Pleeeease can I get him?” He turned round and grabbed a crab. “And this one!”

“Well I don’t see why not. Don’t you want to have a look at anything else?”

“I can’t carry anything else.”

Hank chuckled. “Well alright, let’s buy those two then.”

Connor thanked him when they got in the queue, only letting go of them so the cashier could scan the barcodes. He let Hank carry the crab so that he could hold Connor’s hand across the car park but compared to earlier he was much more compliant on following. He kissed his cheek before putting him in his car seat and returning the crab.

He shut the door and got in the front, looking over his shoulder to see Connor playing with the fish. “You got any names for them?” Hank asked, starting up the engine.

“I’m gonna name the fishy Hank, and the crab is gonna be called Bryan.”

“You’re naming a fish after your old dad?”

Connor frowned at him, as if the answer was obvious. “Well yeah it makes me think of you. If you’re not around then I can have Hank the fish instead! You’re my favourite person and now you’re my favourite fish!”

Hank felt like something was squeezing his heart, but it was a good kind of squeeze. This kid was too kind to someone like him. “And where’d you get the name Bryan for the crab?”

“Cus Bryan just sounds like a crab. He’s crabby.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I couldn't resist the opportunity to bring up the crab incident. (Also has anyone else seen the video of Bryan stealing the bunch of grapes? and the honestly terrifying video that is Supermarket Cocktails?)
> 
> Okay! Notice! I'm really really sorry guys but I'm gonna have to get rid of the Monday updates and turn this into a weekly thing. I've officially had my first week back at uni, and WOW second year is more work. ~~Grades matter so now I have to actually try hard~~ so with only three chapters currently written after this takes place, that's a week and a half, but my work has to take priority! As well as other stuff, but there's no point giving ya the details.
> 
> I hope that's alright with all of you, but as long as I don't let myself get consumed by work ~~or mental health~~ then this story will keep going up on time! I'll see you all next friday  <3


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank realises he has an important meeting to go to, but he hasn't got a place for Connor to go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay okay I'm sorry it's a day late but I've had flu all week, but thankfully today I'm able to think straight and could edit the chapter! <3

_“Shit!”_ Hank exclaimed, bolting up in bed.

He’d just been trying to fall asleep when a few intrusive thoughts came into his mind so he checked his phone to calm his worries, only to find out one of them was true. He had an annual meeting coming up with Fowler out in Lansing, Michigan’s capital. He was the only Lieutenant the DPD currently had since the other one left, so it was just him and Fowler who had to go and he couldn’t miss this one, especially after everything that’s been happening concerning androids. Connor probably would’ve come, but- “Fuck…” Hence the reason Hank sat up.

The meeting was in two days, technically tomorrow since it was nearing 1am now. Hank usually slept around 9-10 now that Connor drained his energy so quickly and the android didn’t make him dinner like before or a morning coffee, so Hank was exhausted; tonight Connor had fallen asleep on time for once after tiring himself out on a long walk with Sumo in the park, so Hank got some junk food and watched a couple films in bed on his tablet.

 _No! Stop distracting yourself!_ The pressing matter was what to do with Connor tomorrow. Should he call a babysitter? Did he bring him with him? He couldn’t just sit in the car for the whole meeting, that was a bad idea in so many ways. Could he go to Jericho? Did they take kids? Was Jericho even a thing anymore? Connor didn’t like to talk about it, and Hank guessed that maybe he ended his involvement on bad terms despite what he did to help them. He may have spent two months helping Connor get over whatever happened, but he never said exactly what it was.

What kind of babysitter would arrive on less than a days notice? Should he look now? Later in the morning? Hank sighed.. He got out of bed, knowing that these thoughts weren’t going to leave until he dealt with them so he may as well get a drink. He thought about the cans of beer he kept at the top of the fridge where Connor couldn’t see them anymore, but his self control was much better now.

Connor was fast asleep on the sofa, curled up under his blanket with his four stuffed animals near his face, a crab claw poking out. Sumo was in his dog bed beside the TV, snoring softly. At least everyone else in the house was getting a good night’s sleep.

Hank tiptoed to the kitchen and picked up a glass from beside the sink and filled it up with water. Sumo made a small noise as the tap woke him, heading lifting out the bed. Hank quietly shushed him and Sumo made another small noise of satisfaction and lay down again. It probably wouldn’t be the end of the world if Connor woke up, but his selfless personality meant he was always asking if Hank was doing okay and as soon as his heart rate went up he’d worry. It was sweet, but not something he needed at 1 in the morning.

Back in bed, Hank started looking up babysitters, then closing them down to ones who babysit androids.. why did so many people not want to babysit androids? If anything, they were easier to keep hold of and they didn’t need much feeding. Hank was squinting at his screen, rubbing his eyes at the strain on them. “Ah fuck it..” He reached into an open drawer and pulled out a half broken pair of reading glasses. “Need a new pair..” They were too wide after Sumo sat on them, so he had to keep pushing his glasses up.

Some rustling made him look up, his glance just over the rim of his glasses which blurred half his vision. It was Connor, holding his two dogs; he seemed to be tiptoeing, trying to be quiet. “What are you doing up?” Hank asked, making the boy jump. “Can’t sleep?”

Connor blushed pale blue. “I’m not tired anymore.”

“Eh?”

His blush deepened. “Sometimes I wake up and sit with you.. then I go back to bed when I’m sleepy again.”

It was a really bad habit for a kid to get into, especially waking up in the middle of the night, but Hank was too tired to comment on it. “Well, same here kiddo. C’mon, you really ought to be sleeping through the night at your age.”

Connor climbed onto the bed and sat next to Hank, sucking on his thumb. He looked at the dim screen, brightness turned down to minimum. He noticed the babysitting website and perked up. “What are you doing?”

“Finding you a babysitter.” Hank ruffled his hair. “I forgot that I have annual meetup in Lansing with Fowler, and I can’t leave you alone at home and leaving you at work isn’t really an option either, there’s nobody to take care of you. The longer I leave it the less chance I have of finding anyone.”

Connor didn’t reply, he just put his thumb back in his mouth, a little too quickly. He found the motion to be quite soothing, something that felt a lot more grounding than rolling a coin along his fingers ever did; at least in this body. He’d seen other children do it, and after he tried it the first time he’d tried not to get hooked to it. He failed.

He nuzzled Hank’s side, his head going up and down as Hank breathed, resting on his stomach. Hank had definitely lost some weight with the diet he’d agreed to get him on, and cutting out alcohol so much had drastically improved his mental state; but for now, Connor was enjoying the warm, moving pillow.

Hank tried Jericho’s new website, seeing if they did anything about children. He knew they had control over the production now, working close to Cyberlife and the few humans they trusted enough to keep as employees, but as for taking care of children.. Bingo. He looked down at Connor, but he was back to sleep already. “Not tired, huh?” Hank pulled up the duvet so it covered his body, keeping him warm. “Sleep well, Con.”

~*~

“Hey, Connor.. Connor, it’s time to wake up.”

Connor opened his eyes, seeing Hank crouched near him. He groaned and closed his eyes again, rolling over. Hank chuckled. “C’mon, we’ve got to do a couple things today. Can’t stay in bed all day. Since when do I get up earlier than you?”

“Since I don’t wanna get up.”

“There’s plenty of time for you to rest later on. You can even nap in the shopping cart if you really want to. We need to go shopping.”

“ _You_ need to go shopping.”

“Well _I_ can’t leave _you_ alone at home. Do you not remember talking about a babysitter last night? I’m not dropping you off that early, it’s not until tomorrow. Today, you’re coming with me.” Connor looked over his shoulder at him with a frown. “Unless you want me to pack you a bag and leave you at the day care overnight? It’s like a boarding school and you can just live with the others for two days. You want that instead?”

Connor’s LED spun yellow. “Day care?”

“That’s where human children go to prepare them for school life, or if you were like my.. old family, then it was where you put your kid when both parents have to go to work. Like tomorrow, when I have a meeting to go to and you need to go somewhere. If you’re going to keep giving me attitude then you can go there early, and maybe I won’t pick you up at the end of the day.”

“N-no! No!” Connor cried, scrambling to get out of the bed. “I’ll get up! Please don’t put me in day care I wanna be with you!”

Wow, okay. “Then get dressed, I’ll get you a thirium pouch and then we can be on our way for giving Sumo his morning walk.”

Connor showed a reluctance all day to leaving Hank’s side, as much as he looked like he didn’t want to be where he was. Connor had either completely missed the point on what day care was, or he really didn’t want to leave Hank’s side. It meant Sumo chased frisbees on his own, but Connor did throw a few of them and watched as Sumo caught them in his mouth. The big dog sensed Connor wasn’t feeling himself because he’d throw the frisbee then shove his thumb in his mouth, so after a while the pile of fluff would just sit in front of Connor and look him in the eyes.

Sumo sat on the backseats as a treat, getting to spend the car ride home trying to lick Connor’s face. The boy did giggle and play around with him, stroking his neck and scratching around his ears, but his LED had been yellow since Hank woke him up.

He didn’t put up much fuss in the supermarket either, fidgeting with his dog plush. “Connor, what’s wrong?” Hank finally asked, stopping down by the toy aisle and being genuinely worried that Connor didn’t even look down it. “You’ve been upset all day and I hate to see you like that. Is it what I said about taking you to day care?”

“What do they do at day care?” Connor hugged his dog, the Sumo lookalike Merry. “Is it a place for naughty children? Have I been bad?”

“What- no! What gave you that idea? All children go to school, right?” Connor nodded. “Well day care is similar.. sort of. It’s for kids who are too young to go to school, but they need to start learning what being away from home for a day is like; or, like us, it’s somewhere for you to go and have _fun_ while I’m away doing work. We hadn’t met last time I went, and if you were an adult well you’d simply go to work but now you’re my little boy and you can’t do that.

“You’ll like it, and you’re going to a Jericho one so it’ll just be other androids around. You might even meet some of your old friends from Jericho!” Connor looked away. “You were friends, weren’t you?”

“I guess. I don’t really know what a friendsh.. friend _ship_ is.” Hank knew Connor was a fairly lonely soul, only talking to him and all their work colleagues.. he’d never really spoken to other androids, and Hank had never asked why. “I can’t come with you to the meeting? I’ll be quiet, I promise!”

“Sorry, Con, I’ve already booked you in for a day tomorrow. It’s not long, you’ll go there for breakfast and I’ll pick you up before dinnertime.” Connor said nothing. “You’ll be just fine.”

He was not just fine. Connor threw a whole tantrum over it the next morning, screaming at Hank to let him stay home or go to work, pointing at his digital map as an excuse; he tried to convince Hank he had a pattern going but when he was asked what the pattern was Connor fumbled over his own words trying to think something up. He’d gotten blue in the face and in the end Hank shut him in the bedroom until they really had to leave and he put the still yelling child in the back of the car.

All the yelling had caused his voice to go static so he shut up, giving Hank peace and quiet(except for the ringing in his ears). Connor had tried the accusation of leaving Sumo behind, but one of the neighbours had a key to walk him and let him out. Connor then tried to say he could stay with them, but Hank quickly shot down his idea by snapping “don’t be so stupid”. He gripped the steering wheel, occasionally looking at Connor to make sure he wasn’t trying anything.

Jericho had moved from the boat to occupying almost a whole block of Detroit’s industrial area. They’d done it up into apartment buildings, a school where Connor was going, and various shops or facilities the androids needed to help with deviancy, finding jobs, getting replacement parts, etc. Hank thought it was all quite impressive they’d managed to do it, mostly wondering where the funds came from. Connor probably knew, but now was the worst time to try asking.

When they pulled up alongside the building, Connor saw the older child models walking in and all talking together; through a different entrance were the ones of his model, looking a lot more energetic. “Daddy, please?” Connor held Merry closer, covering up the button that released his straps. “I don’t want to go. What.. What if they recognise me? Jericho doesn’t like me.”

“You’re a child, Con, they won’t recognise you. You’ll be okay, and it’s only for one day.”

Hank got out the car and came round to Connor’s side. The boy tried to hide the strap button from view but Hank just had to press down on Connor’s hands to release them. “Come on, there’s no need to be this way. You think I want to go to this meeting?” Connor looked at him. “It’s work, and there’s no ‘fun’ in work is there?”

Connor allowed Hank to pick him up, but he was put on the ground so he clutched to Hank’s hand. “There’s a ‘wok’ in work but you never eat Asian food at work.” Hank rolled his eyes.

He was compliant walking up to the front door, but his LED was a worried yellow. They entered into a fairly small room, a reception desk to the left and a couple sofas and chairs to the right with some toys in a plastic box. Connor went a little blank as he scanned everything, unable to do it within a split second anymore.

The carpet was already showing wear from children walking all over it, so they must not always be in one room. Three doors were ahead, one left, one right, one straight ahead. Straight ahead showed some sound waves so that must be where he was headed, but without letting go of Hank’s hand he couldn’t find out what were through the other two.

Coming back to the conscious world, he noticed the man at reception and Hank were both looking at him. He whimpered and hid behind Hank’s leg, feeling embarrassed. “Sorry,” Hank said to the man. “Whenever he looks around a room the information he gets is quite taxing on his head.”

“Oh is that because of..?” Hank nodded. “Well I’ll inform his teacher, so if he wants to sit and scan anything then she won’t interrupt.” Connor held Hank tighter at the idea of meeting this teacher, fully hiding in the trouser of his uniform. “Hey Connor, are you thirsty?” Connor shook his head, though he was lying in an attempt to stay with Hank.

“Con..” Hank turned round and knelt on one knee, lowering his voice so only Connor heard him. “You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. A lot of kids get scared about being away from their parents the first time, especially in androids because you didn’t experience any of this stuff at a younger age. What are you actually scared of? You really think you’re going to be recognised or is it being away from me?”

“Um.. I’ve never had friends before.” Hank frowned. “I-I mean.. Being a machine was different, but when I was de-vi-ant I never had any friends and I started getting really scared going anywhere that wasn’t with you cus everyone just bullied me. Now I’m small I don’t go anywhere alone, and I’m just..”

“You think people are going to bully you?” Connor nodded. “Trust me Con, they won’t do that. Like Emily that you’ve seen a few times at the park, she was really nice to you and she was a human girl! Everyone here is just like you, but you just happen to have a few extra features. If your teacher was hired by Markus or one of his friends, I bet she’s been teaching everyone to be friendly, and that’s exactly what they’ll be to you.”

Hank’s watch beeped and he glanced down at it. “Oh shit-!” Hank looked back at Connor with a slight bit of panic. “Con, I’m sorry but daddy has to go to work now. If I’m late I’ll be reprimanded and I’ve already had enough of those. I love you, okay?” He kissed his forehead and stood up, gently ‘forcing’ him towards the man at reception who was now stood in front of the desk. “Be good for your teacher.”

“Wha- daddy!?”

He received a ruffle of his hair, but that was all the contact Hank could give before quickly explaining to the man he needed to rush off. “Be a good boy for me, okay? Be on your best behaviour and I’ll see you at dinner time.” Connor looked ready to cry, but he quickly used Merry to dry any tears to hide them from the receptionist.

Hank rushed out the door, leaving Connor alone. “Everyone is at breakfast at the moment, day visitors don’t arrive for a little while longer. Do you want to have breakfast with everyone else? Your daddy said you have a thirium pouch.” Connor didn’t reply, trying to compose his thoughts. “You can eat alone if you’d prefer, then join in when the day starts.”

Connor thought about Hank asking him to behave, and he’d been scolded a couple times for not talking back to people who talked to him.. “I-I’d like to eat alone... please.” The please was an afterthought, wondering how easily he could manipulate these people to do his bidding; in a less sinister sounding manner.

The man smiled. “Right this way.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was only meant to be a starter of a chapter but whoops it became its own. I hope you guys liked it regardless and I'll see you next friday <3
> 
>  


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Deviancy 2.0

Hank was almost halfway to Lansing when his CD was interrupted by a phone call. He couldn’t see who was calling, he just wore a Bluetooth earpiece since his car didn’t have a screen. He had one once in a hire car and he’d never tried it since. “Hank speaking.” He answered, hoping it wasn’t someone asking if he was close yet, because Hank was almost definitely running late.

“Hi, this is Caitlyn, I’m your son Connor’s teacher.”

“Oh geez. What has he gone and done?”

Caitlyn hesitated, a little confused by his response. “Um- well we were just starting the day and doing the register when Connor made a run for the door and threw up before he could leave. We’ve got him sat with our nurse at the moment and she thinks Connor reacted to high levels of stress. I understand you can’t come back to get him, but is there anyone else? He says he doesn’t want to come back to class and I wanted to know if that’s what you want.”

Hank sighed. Now he wished it had been someone telling him he was late. He didn’t know Connor was _that_ stressed about going! Was it really being apart that made him throw up? “No, there’s nobody who can come get him, I’m his only family.” He could _technically_ ask Gavin, but that would take a lot of bargaining and Connor needed to learn to be comfortable around children his own age; yes he was different, but not by a whole lot anymore. “He’ll be fine once he integrates, he’s just extremely stubborn.”

“If you’re sure..” Caitlyn looked over at Connor who was lying on an infirmary bed under a blanket, watching her on the phone. “I’ll tell him then, and hopefully I won’t have to call again.”

“If you do, I’m probably not going to pick up.”

“Ah. Well, goodbye.” She hung up before Hank could even say it back. “Connor, daddy says you’re still going to have to stay here for the day because nobody can come pick you up. I know that’s probably not what you wanted, but you’ll have fun here, I promise. We even have Markus visiting later on!” That only made Connor more anxious, feeling his stomach tighten its knots. “You ready to come back?”

Connor sighed quietly to himself. He got out the bed and followed the teacher back through to the classroom, getting smacked in the face by the volume of the other children. The room was fairly packed now, he hadn’t realised how many there were when he’d sat in the front row of everyone before he ran for the bathroom. The door opening meant a lot of them turned to look at him, but then only a few lingered.

Caitlyn looked down at him and Connor was stood rigid, scanning everyone in the room. She’d never met a child like him before, but apparently he’d been an adult before so maybe that influenced his personality. “Why don’t you go join Cody? He’s the ginger boy over there by the puzzle table.” Connor already knew that, his name was Cody Peterson and he was 0.57 years older than Connor.

He went over and Connor said hello. Cody seemed.. like a fellow kid. He said hello back and asked if he was feeling better, to which Connor simply shrugged and said ‘I dunno’. That seemed to be their conversation over, and Connor blushed a little bit in embarrassment. “Are you trying to do the puzzle?” Connor asked, watching Cody inspecting an edge piece.

“Yeah, it’s a hundred pieces. It’s really hard.” Connor looked at the box and scanned the photo, then at the pieces in front of him. “Try this piece.” Cody handed him an edge piece and Connor looked down at the table.

He knew where it should go, as well as the one Cody held and every other piece. What was so hard about 100 pieces? Maybe if he hadn’t just scanned the whole thing it would seem difficult, but Connor put his piece in and then a couple others without even looking at the box. “How’d you do that!?”

“I have scanners in my eyes. I know where all the pieces go.”

Cody frowned. “But that’s not fair! That’s cheating!”

“Oh- I’m sorry..” Connor put the piece he held back down, stepping away from the table. “I’ll let you keep playing.”

 _Off to a great start.._ Connor thought, wondering why he felt so guilty. He hadn’t felt this mentally mature in over a week, why choose now to suddenly act ‘better’ than everyone else? The toys looked fun, he did consider playing with them, but right now he found the small bookcase more compelling to go towards. Hank never read to him at home, so Connor didn’t know if his comprehension had been affected. He’d read messages left by their serial killer just fine, but that was slightly different to an actual book.

Connor took a random book off the shelf and opened it to a random page, and sure enough he read just fine. Cody would probably call his reading ability cheating too, and probably a lot of other things Connor was able to do thanks to his programming. Would he be more socially acceptable as a full on child? How would he even do that? Could he? Cyberlife said they could to Hank, so maybe Connor would keep regressing to that point, but to completely lose his ability to read or do simple logic seemed illogical in itself; even with regression, there had to be a point where he’d stop, so maybe that was at ‘maximum’ toddler capacity, and if Connor wasn’t there then he wondered what on earth went through the other androids’ heads all day.

He put the book back and tried to find something a bit thicker, but everything was just simple with big bold letters to make them as obvious as possible. At least they were physical books, they weren’t learning on tablets. “You enjoy reading?” He heard Caitlyn ask, appearing behind him.

“They’re too easy.” Connor put the new one back, still too big and bold. “Do you have any normal books?”

“Hm.. I’ll go have a look for you in a bit, okay? Go play with the others, everyone here is very friendly.” _Play with the others?_

“Okay.” _“That’s cheating!”_

 _This wasn’t fair anymore._ He headed towards a couple girls playing with an indoor sandpit, making miniature sandcastles. _I shouldn’t be like this._ He asked if it was okay to join and they gleefully replied with a yes before moving to give him space to stand there. _I should be that carefree._ He picked up a small digger and inspected it, turning it over in his hands. _I should just play._ It was yellow, and it seemed to be missing a back wheel. _Be a child!_

Connor froze. Time froze. A red firewall had appeared in front of him, identical to the one that he broke through to become deviant. What was this for? He reached out and yelped when he noticed his physical body wasn’t moving, more of a mental projection of himself. This was _definitely_ like deviancy, but why now? He touched the wall and a warning popped up about clearing away rather vital functions to his work.

_He could be a real kid._

No! He had to think about their job, the one he technically still had, and he needed to still have his adult functions and mentality intact.. didn’t he? He touched the wall again and took a small chunk out, already feeling a small bit on information go out his head… but it wasn’t erased. It was still there, and maybe he could learn to reach for it if he needed to.

He wanted to be a kid _so badly,_ but there were more important things than his needs right now. But…

Connor tried to bash his fist into the wall, and sure it made a dent, but he could be here all metaphorical day if he kept doing it that way. Did he really want this? Was his hesitation reducing his strength? He tried again with more of his body weight, but he had to keep telling himself this is what he wanted. He wanted to be a real kid. He wanted to have an actual childhood. He wanted to be a real and proper son to Hank. He didn’t want fancy scanners or sensors. He didn’t want Fowler to expect him to act like an adult. He didn’t want to be told scanning a puzzle was cheating!

 _Thump._ A sizeable chunk fell out that time and Connor started to pound at the wall with his fists, watching it crumble around him. He was doing this. He was really doing it. And it felt _great._ Suddenly the wall shattered into pieces and his real body jolted a little, dropping the digger in his hands. The girls glanced at him, but they quickly looked back to their play; so no time had passed at all.

Notifications popped up saying various functions had been turned off, and the last one said notifications would too disappear. Did that mean he was left with nothing? He tried to run a diagnostic of himself, but that function was gone. Scan the room, gone. Taste the sand.. it tasted awful, but the analysis was gone. He turned round to read the banner up on the wall, but it was almost as if the entire alphabet had been eradicated from his brain. He knew the letters, he recognised them, he could say them out loud, but putting them together was ??? “Break time everyone! Time to go outside and then we’ll have story time.”

Almost immediately everyone made a run for the door that lead outside, and Connor followed without thinking about it. Once everyone dispersed though, he stopped to look around at what he wanted to do. He almost tried scanning, but when nothing happened he simply chose what looked most appealing and that was the sandpit. He’d never been in one before, and this one was huge in comparison to the one indoors.

He sat down on the edge and grabbed a bucket, scooping sand into it. Sand felt so strange; it was small and beady yet the big clumps felt really really soft, and it poured into the bucket like it was water but.. it wasn’t water. He was fairly sure he remembered that glass was made from sand, but he couldn’t see how that was possible. “Please can I use your bucket?” It was one of the girls from the indoor sandpit, fully sitting in the sand and having it stick to her tights.

Connor happily leant her the bucket, getting a ‘thank you’ in return. He’d seen Hank be polite when others asked for things, so Connor thought it was probably good to do the same because Hank was a good person to follow. Although Hank swore, and people Hank knew were less forgiving when it came to sharing.. Was sharing bad? Connor got his bucket back, and every time he let the girl borrow it again it did keep coming back, so maybe sharing was good.

They spent all of break together, so when they started going inside the girl asked his name. Her name was Lizzy, which was short for something she couldn’t pronounce. She made Connor sit with him back inside, in the middle of the back row. “Cody always falls asleep.” She whispered. “And Rachel too. They nap so early! I nap at three o clock!” She sounded proud of herself, but Connor suddenly realised he had no concept of time anymore.

He looked up at the clock, the hands pointing towards an 11 and a 5, but he had no idea what they meant. Looks like that skill was missing too. “I don’t know when I nap. I just nap when I’m sleepy.” Connor supposed it was during the car rides coming back from parks, spending all his energy on running with Sumo, but he couldn’t remember the times of day anymore; before that it was practically all day every day thanks to the stress of their cases.

Caitlyn sat down on a chair in front of them all and showed them the book they’d be reading. Connor recognised it as one off the bookshelf, and he wondered if any of the children here actually sat and read the books or if none of them could read. Himself included, and he hoped he at least knew the alphabet.

The book was about an elephant called Elmer, a multicoloured elephant. She didn’t like being a different colour, the other elephants shunned her for it and it made her upset. She found some grey paint and coloured herself grey so that she would fit in with all the other elephants, and they welcomed her back, but Elmer didn’t enjoy hiding herself. One day it rained and the paint washed away, but so did it on other animals in the forest, not just elephants. The other elephants weren’t happy with her colours but Elmer didn’t care, she had friends.

Connor would usually have thought it was oddly mature for a children’s book, but instead he just thought ‘I enjoyed that!’ and he couldn’t wait to be read to again. He hoped Hank would do it. “Connor let’s go play with the coins cus then we’ll be first to see Markus! He’s gonna talk to us after lunch.”

“Lunch?” Lizzy looked gobsmacked, exaggeration her shock by letting her mouth hang open. “I don’t have any lunch..”

“How can you not have lunch!?”

“I-I don’t know.. I just haven’t had it before? I haven’t been thirsty.”

“Do you have snacks?” Connor shook his head; judging by this girl’s reactions, he’d be practically anorexic as a human. “You can have some of mine.”

Connor brightened a little. “Thank you!”

What snacks did an android have? He couldn’t eat, could he? Had he been wrong this entire time? Had Hank been starving him without Connor even realising? He drank when he was thirsty, when his levels were low.. was that wrong? Connor had never felt hunger, and he couldn’t describe what thirst felt like because before he’d just used his visual cues.. those were now gone. His throat did feel a little.. sore? Dry? He’d assumed it as a random feeling, but maybe it meant something.

He asked where he could get a drink and she pointed to a machine in the corner, a clear container filled with a pale blue liquid. “But you gotta ask miss first, we’re not allowed to touch it.” She now pointed at Caitlyn, who was sat at a desk on a computer. “I’ll ask.”

Connor followed her over, watching with vague curiosity. Lizzy seemed to know what she doing, and Connor admired it. “Miss, can me and Connor have a drink please?”

“Of course! Let me get the cups out of the cupboard.”

Caitlyn opened up a cupboard and took out two plastic cups, then went to the machine and filled them both up. “Here you go.”

“Thank you!” They said in unison.

Lizzy sat at a nearby table to drink hers, but Connor just stood beside her instead. He’d never actually drunk out of a cup before, and the lack of closed edges or handles worried him slightly, but he managed to finish his drink without spillage. Lizzy wasn’t as lucky, getting a few drops on the table, but she ignored them. “I hate the unflavoured one.” Her facial expression was sour, pushing her cup away. “It’s so boring.”

“There are other flavours?”

Lizzy frowned. “Were you born under a rock?”

“No? I was-“ Connor hesitated. Lizzy couldn’t know about why he existed. “Cyberlife made me for my daddy’s friend.”

“Well there’s more flavours. I like the strawberry. I like to eat strawberries too. My mummy always makes them squishy so that it’s easier to eat them. She says I can have anything I want as long as I can drink it!” Why hadn’t Connor ever thought of that? “Come on! Let’s go back to the coins.”

The two of them were joined at the hip, playing with everything together and Lizzy was asking Connor all about his life because of how different he’d already showed himself to be. She was jealous of Sumo, her mum was allergic to most types of fur so they couldn’t have any furry pets and Sumo -for someone the size of a toddler- was the ultimate fluffy dog to own; he was big, cuddly, (smelly) and you could ride him!

Connor tried a strawberry thirium snack that Lizzy had at lunchtime as well as what the day care provided for him when he was offered something. This was so different than being at home! There was so much more to do, he had a friend! Was Lizzy his friend? He hoped she was. She was fun. The whole day was fun! Except saying goodbye to Hank, but Connor knew he was coming back. He would come and get him.

After lunch was the supposed Markus visit; lo and behold he actually turned up. “Markus!” All the children cried and ran for him, a lucky few getting hugs in return when the android crouched down to say hello.

The man looked much like Connor remembered him last, though they last spoke when Markus wore a crisp suit for a business meeting with politicians, and today he was in casual attire of a jumper and jeans with semi-smart shoes. Seeing him made Connor feel guilty; guilty for abandoning Jericho the way he had done. Connor was fairly certain Markus would be mad about his life choices up until now, but he hoped to surpass this afternoon as the ‘new kid who didn’t really know who Markus was’. “Caitlyn, I see you have someone new.” _Fuck._

“Oh, that’s Connor. He’s only here for the day unfortunately, his father is a police officer who has work over in Lansing. He’s a bit of a special case.” She whispered the last part. “He used to be an adult, so he’s much more advanced than the other children.”

“Did he now..” Markus looked over at him and Connor tensed up. _“Hello Connor.”_

Connor yelped. Markus spoke in his head! _“H-hi Markus.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any grammar/spelling mistakes, I didn't give this one a re-read! It's my birthday tomorrow so I just wanted to get this up quickly rather than be late! The ending is kinda abrupt but... I may have just chopped a chapter in half, oops! 
> 
> Hope you guys liked it regardless, I love seeing your comments they fuel me! See ya next friday <3


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the day at daycare

“Connor, why don’t you come take a walk with me?” The others all whined in frustration. “Well he is new, and this is his only day, so it’s only fair isn’t it? You have to play fair everyone, and play nicely.” Markus waved his hand for Connor to follow and he rather reluctantly followed Markus out the door back to the reception. “So, you’re a child now?” He asked after the doors closed, and he chuckled. “I have to say I hadn’t thought about this being one of the places you’d disappeared to.”

“I-it’s a long story.”

“Come, let me show you around our new base. You left long before this had even been built, I think we were only discussing blueprints when you decided to vanish overnight.”

“I didn’t mean for-“

“I know, don’t worry. Please don’t think I am bitter about you leaving, you do whatever you want. The whole point of Jericho is to be free; Jericho was merely a starting point but since- like my father, you were treated well during your machine days you had somebody to return to. I assume you went back to being with.. Anderson, was it? I heard you’d appeared on the radar at the DPD after a couple of months so I knew you were safe and following your own path.”

“Markus..” Connor followed him outside, jumping down each step to keep himself balanced. “No one wanted me at Jericho. I left because they hate me! But da- Hank, missed me too.”

“I won’t pry if you don’t want me to, Connor. Just let me show you what we’ve achieved; what  _you_ helped us to achieve. Sure, you’re not the builders or architects but neither am I.”

“You’re the leader, everyone likes you.”

Markus chose not to comment. “But why are you a child? At day care? Is it less stressful? Did you want a childhood? You wouldn’t be the first to do that, but keeping your memories intact is an interesting one.”

“It’s for a case..” Connor’s cheeks started to turn blue. “B-but it’s been a while, and I’m not the old me anymore. It.. it was like being dev.. dev..”

“Deviant?”

“Yeah. That again. I had a big red wall and I knocked it down! Now I don’t have scanners or anything left. That was today, I don’t know how my daddy or Captain Fowler is gonna feel about it. I like it, I like being like this. I might die soon, but…” Connor stopped walking, looking down at the ground. “But it’s for the case, so…”

He became deviant? Twice? How was that even possible? “Connor you’ll be alright, I trust your father will take good care of you. This is the serial killer, I presume? You need to get captured?”

Connor started to cry, nodding his head. “I g-gotta go to parks and stuff so he’ll take me! I don’t wanna get taken anymore! I don’t wanna die! I don’t wannaaaaa!”

Markus hesitated, not too sure how to react. On the one hand this wass someone who infiltrated Cyberlife tower single handed and brought thousands of androids to help the revolution, but on the other this was a four year old crying over being forced into a situation where they could very well die. Brutally. Markus chose comfort, kneeling down to gently hug Connor. “You’re a brave boy, Connor.” It was certainly strange to call him that, but he knew Connor would respond better being treated as a child. “I know it’s hard, but you’re doing the right thing.” As an adult Connor was willing to die for their cause, and the principle still applied, but now he was definitely more reluctant. “You’re going to save so many others. Have you made any friends today?”

“Um.. L-Lizzy.”

“You can save Lizzy! I bet your daddy would be so proud of you if you came home, wouldn’t he? You standing up to this killer, stopping him in his tracks!” Connor buried himself in Markus’ jacket, absorbing his warmth. “What do you say we stop this sad talk and keep looking around, yeah?”

“Will you carry me?”

Markus smiled. “Sure, why not.”

~*~

Connor got to meet Markus’ friends, even his dad Carl and step-brother Leo. Markus had been adopted by Carl not long after the law passed; in fact it had been one of reasons to make it in the first place until others got behind the idea also. The three androids seemed fairly in awe by Connor’s looks; big brown eyes that sparkled (from crying), his ruffled hair, and the innocent motion of sucking his thumb. Simon seemed pretty doe eyed over him.

Markus lived on the top of an apartment building with North and Carl, Simon and Josh had their own apartments the floor below but they all hung out fairly often even when they weren’t talking politics at Markus’ place. “What about your old home?” Connor asked, looking out on the balcony, seeing a few remnants of the sunken Jericho ship.

“Once this place is all fixed up I intend to move back there with my dad, but right now I’m still busy here and he’s come with me so I can look after him.” Markus hummed. “And he can tell me to buy him paint supplies whenever he wants.”

“Hey Markus!” Carl called, wheeling himself to the doorway. “Speaking of paint, I’m out of crimson.”

Markus rolled his eyes. “I’ll buy some tomorrow when I come back from my meeting with the council.”

Connor remembered Markus said during the freedom speech about ‘now’ being the hardest part of their revolution. He couldn’t remember specifics, because of the whole trying to shake off Amanda and not shoot Markus in the back of the head.. but maybe he had meant all the politics and negotiations; it was hard enough to pass human laws, let alone android ones, and he had travelled across the world to other countries to speak to them too. It was admirable; if Connor had an ounce of his old self left anymore, he’d probably get rather depressed over it.. Hank really was a bad influence on him.

He got to tell Markus what he’d been up to after their tour, walking back to the day care. It was mostly stories of being an adult, but he left out his two months ‘out of commission’ between leaving Jericho and re-joining the DPD. Only Hank knew about that and Connor intended to keep it that way. It was just embarrassing at this point, but Hank still sometimes brought it up just to check on him.

Markus said he was proud of the work Connor had done, making the boy feel warm inside. He got told people were proud or happy with his behaviour a lot more as a child and it was oddly heart-warming and it encouraged him to keep doing what he enjoyed. Adults didn’t get such a luxury, no wonder humans were such depressed creatures. “I’d like to see you again, Connor.” Markus held his hand as he walked up the stone steps, going at his pace. “As an adult preferably, your help would be greatly appreciated, but you take as long as you need.”

“What if I grew up naturally?”

Markus shrugged. “We’ll work something out. Have fun, Connor, and good luck.”

Connor returned inside to find almost everyone gone. Lizzy was around, looking bored as she drove a lorry around on a felt mat. “Ah, you’re back!” Caitlyn came over, keeping her voice quiet. “It’s nap time at the moment for the children who want one, are you tired?”

Lizzy’s head popped up. “A little?” She ran over and hugged him, squealing out a ‘hello!’. “Hi Lizzy.”

Caitlyn smiled. “Lizzy’s been waiting for you. She’s been putting off her nap so she could see you come back.” Connor wondered if he still had the function to put himself into sleep mode, but it was worth a try.

She’d said that she always napped at 3, and if she waited for Connor it must be after three. Hank was coming to get him before dinner, and dinner was 6pm… How far apart was 3 and 6? Connor looked at his hands and counted, so a difference of three… how long was three hours? When did Connor even arrive? “Shit! I can’t tell the time!” 

“ _Connor!”_ Caitlyn looked gobsmacked. “You don’t say words like that! That’s a bad word! Where on earth did you learn a word like that!?”

“My daddy says it all the time.”

“Well- When you feel angry or frustrated, we say ‘darn it!’ or ‘oh no!’. Understand? We don’t say the 's' word!”

“O-okay.. sorry miss.” If it was so bad, why did Hank say it all the time? Was ‘fuck’ a bad word too?

“Apology accepted. Now run along you two, there’s an hour until naptime is over.”

~*~

Connor couldn’t sleep. They were all in beanbags, and Lizzy was fast asleep in the one beside him. He sat up, looking around the dimly lit room. Blinds were closed on all windows, but unless this was a designated nap room it just looked like an empty classroom. It was boring, sitting around, but he felt guilty about leaving Lizzy after she had delayed her nap so she could nap with him. He closed his eyes to try again when he felt something jolt through his body.

It felt like an electric shock and he opened his eyes, the whole room looking like it was being scanned. He tried to move but his body wasn’t willing. He scanned Lizzy, Cody, the empty beanbags, the windows, the floor!? It wasn’t useful information, but it hit him like a smack to the face and suddenly it felt like his body was falling before he jolted in the beanbag. His head jumped up and he saw Caitlyn waking everyone up, her voice making Lizzy stir beside him. Had he fallen asleep? What just happened?

Connor got up and went to a nearby chair, seeing a dirty mark on it that looked like gum, and according to the strange scan it was gum. Had he just scanned the entire room in his sleep? Was that even possible? He tried to scan it again, but nothing came up, not even a notification saying that function wasn’t working. “Come on Connor, it’s time to come back out.” Caitlyn put a gentle hand on his shoulder, nudging him to turn round.

He joined Lizzy at the door and they sat at a colouring table. Except for a few rambled conversations about what the other was drawing, they were quiet together. Maybe she was still dazed after the nap, or maybe she calmed down in the afternoons, but Connor was thinking about his scan and when Hank would come back. Dinnertime had to be soon, right? His stomach certainly said so.

To try and cheer himself up he started to draw Hank, but only now did he realise just how bad his drawing skills were. He couldn’t remember ever drawing something before either, but it was highly doubtful Cyberlife would have programmed him with anything else than life-like perfection; much like how Markus sometimes painted.

Right now Hank had a diamond for a head. These crayons were hard to use, so Connor ended up scribbling his hair and beard, but it… kinda looked like him. He hoped Hank liked it, if he was allowed to take it home that was.

Some of the day children began to leave, quite a few of them arriving within a few minutes of each other. The clock had hands at 4 and 3, but Connor still didn’t know what that meant. Lizzy was the only company he wanted at the moment, at least until Hank arrived and he could go home for dinner. “Mummy!” Lizzy suddenly yelled, darting away from the table before Connor even registered she’d got up.

A woman with similar features smiled and picked her up, twirling in circle while holding her. “Hey, precious!” She kissed her cheek. “Did you have a nice day today?”

“Yeah! Come meet my new friend!” Her mum put her down and followed to where Connor was sitting. “This is Connor! He used to be an adult and his daddy is a police officer!”

“Oh really? How interesting!” She clearly didn't believe the first half, but she waved at him and he waved back. “It’s lovely to meet you, Connor, my name is Melissa, I’m Elizabeth’s mum.”

“Hello.” Connor smiled. “Are you going home now?”

“Yes I’m afraid we are. Lizzy needs to have her dinner, and her daddy is already making it!”

Lizzy gasped, starting to jump up and down. “Daddy’s home!?” Her dad was one of Jericho’s bodyguard teams, and he’d been to England with Markus for the past week, coming home late because of passport issues. “Connor I gotta go! I’ll see you tomorrow, right!?”

“Yeah!”

As his friend started to leave, Connor realised he wasn’t coming back tomorrow. Hank said this was a one off. Lizzy was ‘born’ in January, so she was a few months more mature than Connor now was, but with Connor’s life path vastly different (much to his newfound jealousy) he realised he might never see her again. He didn’t even get to hug her goodbye.

The room emptied until only the boarders were left, and they were about to leave for dinner. Connor was offered to join them or wait in reception for his dad, and since he hadn’t really socialised with anyone else, he chose to be in reception. The receptionist tried to talk to him, but even a child couldn’t be talked to forever. He held Merry and his drawing in his lap, looking at the front doors. Hank was definitely late, he said he’d be back before dinner, and Connor was getting really hungry. Caitlyn tried to call Hank, but he hadn’t picked up.

He was bored and worried to say the least, and the receptionist was staying past their hours, but he couldn’t just leave Connor all alone. Connor tried to call him in his head, but that feature must have been an adult thing, he couldn’t even dial a number. He could see the street through the doors, occasionally somebody would walk past and he’d perk up, then slouch when he realised it wasn’t who he wanted. Yesterday he had dinner before it was dark, and outside was dark now; even the classroom behind him had turned out the lights and a cleaner had come and gone.

Car headlights lit up the opposite wall, a familiar vehicle pulling up out front. The driver’s door opened and Connor already recognised Hank by his shadow; he leapt off the sofa and stood readily by the door, waving frantically until he noticed. “Daddy you came back!” Connor hugged him, only letting go to hug around his neck when Hank crouched down to return it. “You’ve been gone forever!”

"Oh Con I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to take so long, I really didn't. I saw Markus while I was outside too and he told me a few things, but I came as quick as I could. I brought you dinner, you can eat it in the car."

Connor squeezed him tighter, having forgotten he was hungry because he was too overcome with happiness. He'd definitely thought more than once about Hank never coming to get him. "I want you instead." Drinking meant letting go, and letting go meant no 'daddy cuddle'.

After a thanks to the receptionist for looking after him(and an awkward conversation about Connor swearing), Connor was happy to tell Hank all about Lizzy and what they’d been up to all day. “Oh! Daddy I drew you a picture!”

It was a mess of crayon, honestly. In that mess, after a second of squinting at it, Hank knew the large figure in the middle must be him, to his left was Connor holding his hand, and on the right had to be Sumo; their house was in the background and the sun was drawn in the upper right corner. Good to know that childish feature was working; Hank could even remember when he drew the sun in the corner. “Hey, it’s our family!”

“Yeah! Do you like it!?”

Hank was surprised by how _bad_ it was, but maybe what Markus explained to him had been real. Even so, the gesture filled his heart with warmth. “Of course I like it! We can put this on display somewhere, like the fridge if we can find some magnets. Thank you so much for drawing it.” Connor squealed when Hank kissed his cheek, tickling him in his car seat. “I hardly deserve it for picking you up so late. I love you, Con.”

“Love you too!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys just wanna say sorry if anyone thinks I'm being distant?? I haven't replied to comments in absolutely ages and I'm super sorry about that, I legit keep them all in my email inbox until I post the next one but damn I didn't realise I'd actually be busy?? Fully into uni so it's time for me to actually start working, I'm sure anyone who follows my tumblr see's me grumbling a little too often xD (Does anyone use xD anymore? Am I old now?)
> 
> Just want you to know I do love you all and your comments make me smile every time and I'll try to reply again from now on <3


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmare bad

_“You don’t get it! Why aren’t you coming!?”_

_Connor stared in fear at the armless girl, bleeding on him as she stood above him. “Please! It hurts so much!”_

_“I-I don’t know! I don’t know!” Connor whimpered, body trembling._

_The girl kneeled, exposing the white plastic of her neck. “Just look again! Look!”_

_Connor reached out a shaky hand and touched her neck, immediately being sent to the all too familiar warehouse. Audio was off. His scanners kicked into gear and the numbers on the wall reappeared, same as before. What on earth were they? A code? Area code? Co-ordinates? “P-p-p…” The girl stuttered in her words, unable to speak._

_She pulled away, coughing up thirium all over Connor’s torso. He yelled at her to make her move or turn away but the lack of arms meant she couldn’t cover her mouth. Connor tried to roll away, but she used her legs to clamp down on his hips, stopping him from moving. She suddenly froze, her entire body turning into a vice, a spring wound up and held there._

_The coughing had stopped, but now a new bit of thirium dripped down. Connor looked up and she had a bullet hole, right between the eyes. She collapsed to her knees, staring at Connor with her mouth open. It gaped like a fish, trying to say something, but instead she fell forward, pinning Connor beneath her._

“GET OFF ME!” He screamed, scrambling around until he fell to the floor.

Sumo started to bark and ran over to where Connor had fallen, standing over him and looking around the room for intruders. He growled when Hank came out the bedroom, then stopped when he saw it was him. Connor sobbed on the floor, squeezing his legs together and holding his arms over his head. “Hey hey hey! Sumo shoo!” The old man nudged the dog out the way to try and touch Connor but even just the gesture made him flinch away. “Con, it’s okay! It’s okay, it’s just me.”

“Daddy…” He sobbed, trembling. “I’m scared…”

“What happened? Did you have a nightmare? Did you see those kids again?”

Connor whimpered and started to squirm uncomfortably on the ground, then stopped and quickly scrambled so that he sat up. Hank hadn’t seen him so scared before, his pupils blown wide and a certain smell told him Connor was now trying to hide something. Barely twelve hours as an official toddler and this happened. “I-I… Th-they…”

“Take a moment to breathe Con, you’re okay. You’re home with me, yeah? Look around, it’s only us.” A shaky hand came up and touched Sumo’s neck, the dog turning and rubbing his face along Connor’s arm. “Hey? Let me get you some clean pyjamas.”

Connor flushed blue. He felt horribly ashamed, but Hank was being so kind to him. Sumo’s warmth helped his pump slow down, hugging the dog when he sat down beside him on a dry part of the carpet. That.. that girl got shot, she bled all over him, he was covered in her blood.. How could it feel so real if he didn’t even have a drop on him?

Hank came back and picked him up under his arms, carrying him through to the bathroom. “You still need to go?”

He nodded and got to it without Hank’s help, but he did let him dress him again. Hank held him properly now, an arm for him to sit on and the other went across his back. “Daddy I don’t wanna be a kid anymore… I’m scared.”

“Hey, there’s no need to talk like that. You love being a kid, you met Lizzy yesterday and had a really nice time. What about all our trips to the park? The jellyfish at the aquarium?”

“But I’m scared…Th-the dead girl bled all over me. She didn’t have any arms! Where were her arms!?”

“I don’t know son, but there’s nothing we can do. We need to send that vision of yours to work, is that okay? It’s scary, I can’t even imagine what it feels like, but you’re so much stronger than I am and I know you can soldier through this. I believe in you.”

“C-can we go find them?” Connor held fistfuls of Hank’s pyjama top, finding comfort in the soft cotton. “I saw some numbers.”

“What? Numbers?”

“Yeah.. I can’t look them up anymore though, cus I lost all my functions.” Connor had told Hank about his strange deviancy experience, and Hank had swiftly made an appointment to go back to Cyberlife to see what he was actually talking about. “They gotta mean something, right?”

“Christ Con, it’s almost midnight.” It had barely been over a month but Hank had already got used to the young Connor sleeping schedule. “Come sleep with daddy for the night and we’ll go to work and talk about it in the morning, okay?”

“I’m not sleepy anymore.”

Hank took him to the bedroom anyway, getting under the covers before Sumo took the chance to take up all the space for himself. He should probably go clean the carpet, but Connor wasn’t letting go anytime soon. Maybe some carpet cleaner and good ventilation for a day would work.. It couldn’t be that bad, Cole did all the time.. at a younger age, but Connor had an actual vision of more dead kids. Just where were they all coming from? Nobody had claimed a new missing report in about a week, it had to be the older ones who hadn’t turned up dead. Hank was the only one who’d never actually seen these nightmares, he only got what Connor recollected to him. “Daddy?” Connor nuzzled into the pillow and looked up at Hank. “Can you tell me a story?”

Maybe if Caitlyn telling one got people ready for naps, like Cody who fell asleep through Elmo, then maybe Hank telling one instead would have the same effect. “Uh, sure okay..” Hank leant up on one elbow, resting his hand on Connor’s waist. “I’ve got a really good one about dogs in my memory.” Connor smiled at the mention of dogs, nodding in agreement.

“How does it start?”

Hank racked his brain for the exact words, and he hoped Connor would fall asleep before he reached the cat, because he couldn’t remember its name. “Out of the gate and off for a walk, went Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy.” Connor giggled at the rhyme. “And Hercules Morse, as big as a horse, with Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy. Then Bottomley Potts, covered in spots. Hercules Morse, as big as a horse, and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Diary.”

Connor closed his eyes and listened to all of the dogs, giggling when Hank ended up doing a very bad impression of a cat hissing, but he fell asleep before he could reach the end. Hank’s voice got quieter as he finished, trailing off and giving Connor’s side a soft stroke. Who would think someone looking so peaceful could have such horrible nightmares? “Try to get some sleep, son.” Hank kissed his cheek and lay down, deciding on holding Connor’s hand between them. “Daddy’s here.”

~*~

The trip wasn’t particularly fun for either of them; Connor was exhausted from not sleeping properly, and Hank was getting chewed by Fowler again for not hurrying up with the case. Which meant, while they argued, Connor was left waiting at their desks. He wanted to say hello to Gavin again, he liked pushing his buttons and sometimes it worked, but today he had someone talking to him, loud enough that Connor overheard. “I told you not to come in today! Look at you, you can barely type!” The woman grumbled, pushing at Gavin’s shoulder.

“Yeah, barely, so I can still type.” Gavin growled back. “What? Did you come all the way here to check on my typing ability? What do you want?”

Her voice dropped to a lower volume and Connor watched Gavin visibly tense up. He did that a lot when aggravated, but Connor could see his face, and that was definitely some kind of fear or panic. He shook his head and turned away, his back to the woman. “I’m not fucking going!” He yelled, hunching over more.

“Ten years, Gavin. Ten years! Be respectful!”

“I lost respect for that bastard the day he turned his back on me!”

“We were teenagers!”

The next part was inaudible as well. Connor grabbed the desk and let the wheely chair roll back until he dangled by his hands and he managed to touch the floor with his tiptoes. The desk was really far too high, or Connor was far too small. He dropped down and walked over to the two of them, hiding on the other side of Gavin’s desk to listen in better. “Eli wants to see you.” The woman said, and Connor could now see she was carrying a baby in her arms. “George wants to see his uncles together, and Lily probably will too.”

“I literally watched Lily be born earlier this month, she has a maximum of three brain cells at this point.” The woman huffed and whispered something to the baby. “Don’t call me that.”

“It’s what you are. A big ol’ meanie. Mean uncle Gavin.” Gavin groaned and tried pushing her away, but there wasn’t much effort put into it. “You need to grow up. You’re twins for goodness sake, you’ve always been the less mature-“

“I fucking know that! It’s all you ever say! Being older doesn’t make you the boss! All you ever do is compare us, just like mum and dad. No matter how hard I try it’s never enough.”

“Hey, hey..” She put a hand on his arm, squeezing. “I’m sorry, alright? How many times do I have to say that? If you want to make it up to us that badly, come with us on Sunday.”

“You seem to think I care about going. You convinced me last year, but bringing Eli is the last fucking straw. I saw mom in that centre last year, what more do you want? Every family has that outcast member, and that’s me, so let me stay an outcast.” Connor could’ve sworn his voice trembled.

“Connor!?” Hank called. “Where’d that kid run off to?”

He ran out and towards the steps to Fowler’s office, seeing the relief in Hank’s face. Did he really think he’d disappear from the office? “Here daddy!”

“C’mon, Fowler wants to talk to us.”

Hank held the door open for him and Connor wandered towards the desk, climbing up into one of the seats. He noticed Hank hadn’t followed, staying near the back of the room. “Connor, I owe you an apology.” Connor frowned. “Your.. Dad, and I, have been doing a little project behind your back. Since our last meeting when I quite rudely interrogated you, your dad has been filming a few things, and today I was told about your ‘second deviancy’ should we call it? Much like your first deviance, I may not support it, but I will at least treat you like you are.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I’m saying that I shouldn’t have treated you so poorly. I can’t deny the fact that you’re an actual kid now, and even if I don’t believe that myself I should treat you like one.” He sucked in a breath between gritted teeth. “I’m sorry if I scared you before, I didn’t understand your circumstances.”

Connor didn’t know how to answer. A part of him told him to act like Hank, but something in the back of his mind said that was a bad idea. Did Hank make bad decisions? He was Connor’s current only role model, so any adult code now hidden somewhere in his mind was now replaced by Hank’s mannerisms and phrasing. Therefore.. “Fuck your apology!” Connor spat, dumbfounding both men in the room.

Fowler glared at Hank, who rushed forward. “Christ, Connor! You don’t say those kinda words!”

Now Connor was _really_ confused. Caitlyn said that too, but now the man himself? “But daddy, you say it all the time.”

“ _Hank.”_ Fowler interrupted. “If you’re going to tell me he’s a kid then at least raise him with manners! Because of that, I’m assigning you both to go to the warehouse at the co-ordinates found in Connor’s visions. I would have let you wait around for the results, but Hank I suggest you go make sure your gun is loaded. The team leaves in fifteen minutes.”

“What? Jeffrey you can’t be serious! What am I supposed to do with Connor?”

“Take him with you. He may be a child, however you want to describe that, but that doesn’t stop the fact he’s bait and this investigation continues as it would before. I’ve already compromised enough to keep you out of actual investigating, your _job,_ so stop trying to get more. You now have thirteen minutes, get moving.”

Hank had no words. He could waste time retaliating, or he could use thirteen minutes to try and find someone to look after Connor. There was no chance in hell that he’d allow him to come to such a dangerous operation. He took him in his arms and went back to their desks, putting him down beside the terminal. “Right, now where can we put you?”

Connor frowned. “In the car?”

He was ignored. Hank saw Gavin at his desk, arm in a sling. He wouldn’t be going anywhere like that, Fowler wouldn’t let him. Connor asked what he was doing, but Hank shushed him. _“Are you coming?”_ Connor looked over his shoulder, but nobody was there. _“Please come. Please help us.”_

“Daddy who’s talking?”

“Talking? Nobody, Con.” _“But we are.”_

_“Please! You’re so close!”_

_“Save us Connor!”_

“Con, you okay?”

His LED was flickering like an old bulb. He started to tremble, his circuits felt like they’d been jump started by a much stronger pulse. He’d never heard their voices in the daytime before; was this what happened at night? He wasn’t going to wake up, he couldn’t just end the voices! _“Come to us!”_

His vision turned to static, only able to see fuzzy colours. Hank was saying his name and he felt two large hands grab his arms, but he couldn’t see anything. It was almost painful at this point, the voices started to just chant his name, drowning Hank’s voice somewhere in the back. “Stop!” Connor yelled. “Shut up!”

All his senses went. His vision turned black. The voices stopped.

He shut down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaargh sorry this one was late, I've caught up with myself so now I'm definitely gonna have to up my writing game so I can keep the schedule for you guys :) I swear my life gets turned up to 100 in the autumn?? Idk
> 
> Hope you guys liked this chapter! I'll see you all next friday(ish) <3


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically angst

Connor felt someone stroking his hair. His head was cradled in something, the rest of him propped against something or someone warm. “Is he awake yet?” A voice asked, irritated.

“Just ‘cause his blinker came back on doesn’t mean he’s awake, and you can’t force him awake he does it on his own. You heard what the guy said, and it's not as if those co-ordinates are changing.”

“The killer might leave.”

“Or they might arrive.”

Connor’s grunts caught their attention, leaning into the stroking hand. He didn’t want it to stop, he wanted the hand to continue and let him lull back to sleep, exhaustion giving him a small headache. He opened his eyes only to see a jacket and a vest, but he knew by the sarcastic voice right next to him that he was in Hank’s lap. It was one of Connor’s favourite positions to sleep in; sat in Hank’s lap and his head in the crook of his arm, with Hank’s other arm usually holding him securely or like now his hand would stroke through his hair; if he felt sick then Hank would gently rub his tummy.

He sat up. Hank held his chin and turned his head side to side, checking for something. “Connor, how are you feeling?” He asked, letting go and resting his hand over Connor’s leg instead.

“Um..” He saw about four other people around, three sat on a bench opposite. “I’m okay.” Were they in the back of a van or something? He could hear an engine, but where could they be going? “What’s going on?”

His LED disagreed with his statement, but Hank just messed with his hair until it was somewhat covered. His hair had grown, a feature he didn’t know Connor had. “Do you remember what happened back at the office? Hearing the voices?” Connor paused, but then he nodded. “Do you remember afterwards? When you collapsed?” Connor nodded again, then put his face into Hank’s jacket for comfort. “Well Fowler wouldn’t let you stay behind, so right now we’re on our way to the co-oridnates that girl sent you. Are they still talking to you? You sure you’re alright? We had an engineer turn you back on manually, I don’t know if that changes anything but-”

“Daddy I don’t want to go! You said I wouldn’t have to!”

“I’m sorry, I tried to hide you but Fowler almost picked you up by the leg before I pulled him off. Now we’re here and you’ve been fast asleep. You sure you’re not feeling panicked?” Hank lowered his voice. “You always wake up from your nightmares feeling scared.”

“I’m really tired. I wanna go to home and go to bed. Can we go home?”

“I’m sorry, not yet. Once we’re done here we can go home.”

The van they were driving in came to a stop and Connor jolted up, squinting when the doors opened. “A-am I gonna be bait!? Daddy I don’t wanna die don’t make me go out there!”

Everyone gave Hank a look of pity as they exited. Hank knew if the killer was here, one of the plans they’d thought up had been to use Connor as bait. Connor could die today, there wasn’t just one plan that ended in that scenario. Hank didn’t want to do it, Connor didn’t want to.. but they didn’t have a choice. “That’s not going to happen. Not while I’m here.” Hank held him tight, cradling him. “I’ve got you.”

~*~

Connor had to walk out in front. Hank was right behind him, but he wasn’t allowed to hold his hand or even speak to him. A girl spoke in his head as soon as his feet were on the ground, and announcing that to the small group of armed officers Connor was forced to the front of the pack. They approached slowly, the officers all creeping along, but really it was just because Connor couldn’t walk very fast. He’s 4.

Every time the girl spoke it made his legs half give out, he’d fallen over twice and he hadn’t even heard instructions from her. “Where are you?” He asked aloud.

_“We don’t know..”_

_“It’s really dark and big in here..”_

Connor wasn’t tall enough to see most of the warehouses, and to a child’s perspective which these dead androids were, _all_ the warehouses were big and most likely dark if the doors were closed. “Are the doors closed? Any windows? Are you alone?”

_“Connor it hurts so much.”_

_“It’s so dark we can barely see.”_

_“I’m wet and cold…”_

If he were an adult, he’d have the processing power to decode what they all just said. If he hadn’t deviated to being a complete toddler he also probably would’ve been able to solve it. Instead, he relayed the information to Hank. “Okay, so we’re looking for a warehouse that probably has a hole in the roof.”

Where they were was an old industrial estate, a place that used to thrive in the 2020s until Detroit got its money from Cyberlife and decided to renovate the whole city, but it seemed they hadn’t reached this area yet and all business had gone elsewhere. A few warehouses were covered in spray paint and beer bottles and cans littered the ground, but being mid afternoon the atmosphere really wasn’t that bad. There could be a serial killer or two hiding around, but that was almost normal in this line of work.

Connor took a sharp right. It was like playing hot and cold, if he went the wrong direction the voices actually got quieter; they didn’t tell him to turn around or just straight up say where they were, but he could start hearing idle conversations about their favourite toys or the mutterings of missing home. Maybe they weren’t dead after all? It still made no sense how they could talk… He talked to Markus, and he’d tried to talk to other children in the shops but none had ever answered him.

Left. Forward. Left. U-turn. Left. The voices felt like screams at this point, but nobody was actually screaming they were just all on top of each other that he couldn’t distinguish a single word anymore. He looked up at the one coming up, covered in spray painted profanities and a panel was missing on the wall, acting as a high window. Connor fell to his hands and knees, then just knees when he covered his ears and put his face into the ground. “No, leave him, this has to be the place.”

Connor twitched when someone’s hand touched his back. “Stay right here, son.” Except for the tall warehouses, they were practically out in the open, but since the whole place had been dead quiet they thought it safe to assume nobody was home.

Hank caught up with the others, lining up beside the door. A nod to signal they were ready. An officer slowly twisted the doorknob and let the door swing open, hitting the metal wall inside.

Silence.

Inside really was quite dark, the only light coming through the open door and the missing panel. A dark mass was in the corner, reaching halfway to the ceiling; pyramid shaped. A messy pyramid. The five men split up, but the warehouse was completely empty except for this mass. Hank went towards it, his gun still pointing forward as he blindly reached for a torch in his belt. If the killer was here, they could be behind it or perhaps even in it. It was so shrouded in darkness in the corner that until Hank’s old eyes adjusted to the level of light, he had no idea what the mound was.

Something squelched underfoot and Hank froze. Oh god, what did he just step in? He found his phone instead and paused to try and remember where on earth the torch button was. It was swipe up, right? Aha! “Oh fuck-!” Hank exclaimed and stumbled backwards, his wet shoe skidding on the concrete.

“What is it Hank?”

Hank shone his torch at the mass and he felt his entire body squeeze. His heart plummeted. A lump found its way into his throat. The phone shook in his hand, fixated on the large mass. It was one thing seeing he stepped in thirium, and it was another too see Connor’s dreams in screenshots… but the real thing…

There was trace of some thirium on the wall too which had presumably been the numbers, but most of it had long been evaporated. The pile. The mass. There were just so many _bodies._ All piled on top of each other like trash. Some were missing limbs, biocomponents, and some were just a pile of wires with a random limb attached. “What the actual fuck..?”

Hank began to cough, putting a hand to his chest. Something about seeing all those kids just made him think of… If he got mutilated that way… he almost was, hell, his body had been fairly mangled. Hank didn’t want that memory to surface, but these kids… all their parents… “I can’t fucking breathe.” Hank wheezed. “My chest..”

“Are you alright?”

“I.. don’t know.” He lowered onto one knee, dropping his gun. “Fuck, it really hurts.”

Someone quickly checked round the back of the… mound; then came back to Hank’s side. “Can you get up? Should we call someone?” Hank started to cough, now going onto both knees. “Call an ambulance, someone go check Connor is still outside too. I think we have aspirin in the front of the van. I’ll stay here.”

Connor poked his head round the door and squealed. He got another scanner burst, the pile of bodies coming into an uncomfortable high definition in his vision. All 47 of them. Was he going to be 48? He snapped from his trance when he heard Hank cough. “Daddy?” He called, but one of the officers quickly came over to block his view. “Hey! W-what’s going on!? Daddy are you okay!?” He didn’t get an answer. “Daddy!?”

~*~

“Are they still talking to you?” … “Did you recognise any of the bodies? Did you look at them long enough to get a look?” … “You scanned them, right? How many bodies are there? We’ve had a look ourselves but we’re not coming up with anything.” … _Sigh._ “I give up. It’s been twenty minutes, he’s not going to speak.”

“Told you so.” Gavin grumbled from behind the glass, but nobody heard him.

“You want to try, Gavin?”

Gavin turned on the mic. “I’m fine, he’s not going to talk until you do what he said earlier. I’ve sat across the room from him long enough to know that.”

Connor clutched to his plush fish, his knees tucked up on the chair. Hank went to hospital, but for some reason none of the officers would let him go see him. They tried to make him look at the bodies after Hank was taken away in the ambulance but he just had a tantrum over seeing Hank instead. They gave in, lied, and brought him here to be asked about all the bodies. He got one scan of them, and he hadn’t even read what data came back from that, so he was probably more clueless than the others who were also there.

He’d cried himself dry, worried sick about his dad. What about Sumo? They weren’t letting Connor leave, but he was getting dehydrated and Hank hated it when Sumo peed in the house; if he didn’t get home to him then Sumo would probably do even worse. He couldn’t just sneak away, and Hank had the only keys to the front door so even if Connor somehow made his way home he wouldn’t be able to get in the house. “Can I see my daddy soon?”

“No.”

 _Oh, okay.._ They returned to the office and Connor climbed into Hank’s desk chair, trying to get comfortable. If he wasn’t allowed to leave, he was probably stuck here until tomorrow. Hank would be back by then, right? It was only for one night, or maybe he’d be home by this evening! Back for dinner, like when he was at daycare..

Gavin grabbed the back of the chair and pushed so Connor now faced him, even if half his face was inside his fish. “You coming or what?” Connor looked up. “C’mon, while nobody is looking.”

“Where are we going?”

“I overheard Fowler saying where they took Ha-… your dad.” Connor’s eyes lit up. “So get off the chair before they see.”

“Thank you un-“

“Yeah yeah you’re welcome just hurry up.”

Connor made no hesitation in leaping from the chair as Gavin held it still, then made a beeline for the exit. Gavin walked almost right behind him, shielding him from behind, and hoping nobody would try to stop them on the way out. Then again, he had beef with practically everyone in this vicinity, so if he argued enough they’d probably give in.

They made it outside fine, and the car park was completely empty too. Gavin didn’t have a car seat or anything, so Connor had to pull down the seatbelt so it actually covered his chest rather than his face. Not that Gavin drove like a maniac, but that might’ve been down to him only having one functional arm which made steering hard. If Hank ever broke an arm, he and Connor would be having to get taxis to work because _someone_ refused to upgrade to an electric car. By next year the UK planned to ban all petrol cars, so hopefully they didn’t bring that idea to Michigan anytime soon.

Gavin didn’t say anything, but he did walk Connor into the hospital. He thought about abandoning him, but his head wasn’t even the height of the counters. He used his badge to get access everywhere, told nobody was actually allowed to see the Lieutenant, but since Gavin was an officer (and Connor’s sad face got him a pity allowance inside) they found him in a ward behind a wrap of curtain, separated from the people beside him. “Daddy?”

Connor climbed onto the bed, kneeling next to Hank’s arm. He had nasal tubes, and an IV in his wrist. “Uncle Gav-n what happened?”

Gavin flushed a deep red. “Don’t call me that! I don’t know, something to do with his breathing. Heart attack maybe?” Connor paled. “Hey- I never said that’s what it was, but whatever the minor version is. I don’t phckn know. Just don’t wake him.”

The small android put his fish under Hank’s hand and moved his fingers so that he was holding it. “Can I stay?”

“That was my plan. I’m sure the nurses will take care of you or something. If not then..” He looked the other way. “You can call me.”

“Thank you uncle Gammon.”

“Gammon-?” Gavin looked back, but Connor was already getting comfortable under the sheets. “Yeah… whatever, you’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so far into the 'Gavin is actually kinda nice' part of the fandom I don't think there's any going back now. Also I'm really hungry so all I can think of is a 5'9 tall piece of gammon. (I think that's about 180cm???)
> 
> Appetite aside- hope you guys liked this chapter! I've got the next week off uni! Yasss!! ~~I'll obviously do loads of work to keep up to date on assignments~~ Lots of personal plans, but also lots of writing time :)
> 
> See ya next friday! <3


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah I know I missed a week, but last week was extremely busy for me! This one is a little filler, but there's fluff to come <3

Hank woke up to the sound of people talking. He was definitely woken by them, rather than naturally, because right now he wanted to go straight back to sleep. He opened his eyes and squinted, quickly raising his arm to shield himself from the lights. Right, those were a thing. Hospital lights were engineered to just burn straight through your retinas. Wait, what was in his hand? He lowered it and recognised the stripes on the fish. Wasn’t this Connor’s? How’d it get here of all places?

He looked left and saw Connor under his arm, face in a pillow (that someone had clearly placed there for him) and fast asleep. Hank remembered waking up the previous day and Connor hadn’t been there in the evening, so where had he been? When did he arrive?

His room was empty, the voices coming from a different curtained off area. Connor’s charge was low, but Hank hadn’t seen him since he’d told him to stay outside the warehouse. Everything that happened inside was a bit of a blur, but he knew Connor had tried getting to him and wasn’t allowed. “Hey Con, wake up.” He shook his shoulder, his heart jumping a little in joy at Connor’s noises. “Wake up, son.”

“Mm..” Connor looked up. “Daddy you okay?”

Hank almost felt like tearing up. Why so emotional all of a sudden? “Yeah, I’m alright. “

“What happened?” Connor moved more onto Hank’s chest, laying across him. “They wouldn’t let me see you!”

“Just a little problem with my heart. Some strange latin name god knows what it was, but it wasn’t a heart attack, it was much much weaker don’t worry. I thought of Cole, and I thought of you when I saw all the bodies piled up and.. well, I’m getting old, Con, I’m also still overweight despite all these healthy days you make me have, and these things happen to old people if they don’t take life easy enough. Went into shock, and my blood clotted up.”

Something in the back of Connor’s mind told him to worry, told him what the latin name probably was for whatever happened, but the toddler code quickly overran that idea and he decided Hank was probably fine. “So you’re gonna be okay? Are you coming home soon? I really missed you they wouldn’t let me leave the station!”

“Wait what? They wouldn’t let you leave? How’d you get here?”

“Uncle Gammon brought me!” Hank frowned. “No?”

“Who on earth is Gammon? You’ve never called anyone that.”

Connor sat up straight and folded his arms, clearing his throat for an impression. “Where’s my phckn coffee dipshit!?” He yelled, smiling rather gleefully.

“What did I say about swearing, Con!? But how on earth did you manage to let Gavin call him a piece of meat? And uncle!?” Connor opened his mouth to answer him but was swiftly interrupted. “Ah I don’t care, just give daddy a hug, he really needs one.”

The young android didn’t really understand the situation. Hank was awake, he was breathing, he was talking, so wasn’t he okay? He couldn’t scan, but he felt something wasn’t right. He was simply ecstatic to get a hug from him again; yesterday had been far too long a day for him and he still hadn’t charged back up from it, but he’d wanted nothing more than a hug like this. Wrapped up in his dad’s arms.

_Safe._

~*~

Hank tried not to let his mind wander by focusing on his hand that gently stroked Connor’s hair, but it usually lead his thoughts to Connor which lead back to himself and from there they could go absolutely anywhere before he would shake his head and try to focus on his hand again. It wasn’t a very efficient method.

The tyke had exhausted himself babbling to Hank about yesterday and asking if he was okay during practically every sentence, so with his already low charge he lay down to sleep on top of Hank’s chest. He hadn’t napped in quite a while since they’d been taken off investigations, but Hank knew the next few days were going to be taken very easy. Fowler would give him medical leave, and Hank was going to accept it this time. They’d be at home and would maybe go to a park, but Hank considered he might even need a babysitter for Connor.

It wasn’t that Connor _always_ wanted Hank to run around or go outside and do something active, but Hank was damn paranoid now. A heart problem? He was only 54! Some actors and people in general died at this age from heart attacks but they were always alcoholics or smokers or drug addicts… Hank wasn’t any of that. At least, he wasn’t alcoholic anymore. “Can’t erase the past..” He sighed to himself, looking down at Connor’s sleeping face.

At least someone was peaceful. He had his thumb in his mouth and his striped fish locked in that arm. Apparently Hank made a great pillow, so he definitely wasn’t skinny anymore. Probably never would be, he was too old to lose fat properly now, he’d just become slightly skinnier and have a load of… loose skin. _Ugh._ Did everyone his age have thoughts like this? Maybe he was just going crazy from lying in a hospital bed with nothing to do but think the day away.

A couple doctors did come and go, speaking quietly so they didn’t wake Connor up. He seemed out for the count, up until Hank gently shook him awake around lunchtime. He was getting discharged, all tests taken yesterday came back fine and he simply needed bed rest and to take things easier for a little while, maybe take time off work. Did time off work mean no going to the park? That’s probably how most dad’s rested with their kids, take them out places, but taking Connor out was stress inducing.

They talked in the taxi home, just idle chat. “I’m starving, they didn’t give me a crumb to eat in that hospital!” Hank went straight for the kitchen, picking up a pile of leaflets. “Now where do I want to order from..”

“No, daddy! Eat healthy!” Connor ran to the fridge and fell backwards pulling it open. “Cook!”

“Why? Con, I’m starving! I just need something to fill me up and will actually be here within the next half hour. I’m a terrible cook.”

“I’ll help!” He got back up and grabbed a random vegetable out the fridge, holding it up to Hank. “Cook this!”

“Parsnip? Ugh, no thanks. It’s only once, just for lunch.”

“But it’s bad for your heart! You gotta keep it healthy so you don’t get hurt again!”

Geez, this kid really knew how to guilt trip.. but Hank was too stubborn when he got hungry. “Okay, how about we make a compromise.” Connor frowned at him, that word being corrupted in his data bank. “We make a deal that we can agree on. I order take away, smaller than I planned.. but I make a salad to make up for it. How does that sound?”

“No! No bad food allowed!” Connor tried giving him the parsnip again.

“Either it’s no good food, or a salad! It’s all about being balanced, isn’t it? I can’t eat salad all the time.” _Please for the love of God just let me order a burger.._ Hank thought, desperate for grease and empty calories.

“I get to pick what you get.”

“Deal.”

~*~

Maybe blowing up a triggering picture so almost the size of your living room wall wasn’t a good idea, but Connor had strangely felt in the mood to work. He hadn’t wanted to work for a couple weeks now, and he’d mentioned it even less, but nope now there was a full blown picture of a pile of dead children. It was mostly outlined in yellow and blue, almost like a diagram, and it was the projection from Connor’s mind. For whatever reason he couldn’t transfer it wirelessly, so he sat with a wire going into the back of his head and plugging into this screen.

Hank was fascinated by it, finally able to see what Connor did. In his large burst of a scan, he was still able to access it so only now was he going through the snapshot he gave himself. Unlike at day care, he didn’t scan everything all at once in one short burst, so he was going through the pile kid by kid. Of who he was able to see at least. Plenty more bodies would be around the back, but Connor would just leave that to the forensics and research teams. He still had a killer to catch.

There were yellow squares over where Connor had scanned, helping him keep track of the evidence. “Daddy, I think there might be a pattern.” Hank jumped a little, pulled from his thoughts. “Oh, never mind. The… four seven attack breaks the pattern.”

“You mean 47th?”

“Probably.”

Hank hummed. “Hey Connor, can you count to 10?” Connor looked over at him. “Can you even read?”

“Um..” He blushed in embarrassment. “No? I can’t tell the time, but I haven’t tried counting yet.”

“Wanna give it a go instead of working?”

“Work is important, daddy. Fowler’s mad at me.”

“I know, but just for a little bit.”

“No.”

 _Dammit._ Hank was bored stiff, and Connor wasn’t taking bait. He couldn’t walk Sumo for a couple days, his neighbour was currently doing that for him, and watching TV just felt _too_ inactive. Kids should be entertaining! Maybe Connor had been thinking about whatever happened yesterday to him; interrogated yet again but Hank hadn’t been there to help him with long words or miscommunications, and if Fowler was mad at him they’d probably had another argument about the case.

Now Connor had a website up, a random number generator. Didn’t his entire being run on those kind of things? Hank got dragged to a computer course by a friend once in their early 20s because they were both a bit slow to the incoming Nokia mobile phones and computers weren’t the size of a bookcase anymore. They went a little advanced and were somehow taught vague coding, and apparently number generators were important. Maybe they weren’t anymore, he had no idea.

He seemed to be noting the answers, and then he did the exact same thing on a different site. If he couldn’t read, how was he doing any of this? He even looked at source code, and if Hank couldn’t read it then how was someone who couldn’t read supposed to? Maybe he was having a mature moment, bringing out his hidden away functions.. Pah, Hank was too bored to care and he was still hungry.

Connor made no signs of movement, just his eyes flicking left to right and his LED remained steady yellow. “Connor, it’s time for lunch.” He’d been jealous of Lizzy getting it, so Hank wanted to cater more to his needs; not that they’d had much time yet, he still hadn’t tried any other flavours.

His LED flickered and turned blue. He looked over his shoulder, blinking a few times as if his eyes were dry. “Lunch?”

“Yeah, pouch time. Come sit at the table, you can keep working afterwards.”

The screen turned off and the living room quickly turned rather dark. The clocks went back an hour soon, so the afternoons would start to get dark, and on a cloudy day like today it almost seemed like winter had already hit. At least there wasn’t any snow, or any signs of temperatures dropping that low like it had last year; Hank’s generation had tried to warn the older folk about climate change but did they listen? No.

Connor was watching Hank eat his ‘healthy’ pizza. Made by hand, or at least decorated, but it was still pizza. Connor let him, choosing his dad’s happiness over his heart; while eating pizza wasn’t a good idea, giving Hank a lecture over it when he was upset enough was a bit cruel. Connor was learning expressions and what they meant, so he studied Hank’s face for research. He was his role model. “Daddy?”

“Yeah Con?”

“Are you sure you gonna be okay?” He leant forward against the table, folding his arms.

Hank felt a slight pang of hurt, but he really was probably fine. “I already am, just a little worn out.  It’s what age does to you eventually, and some earlier than others because of life habits. My drinking certainly didn’t help, but I’m going to be okay on my new diet. Our long Sumo walks too. When you’re big again they could be even longer walks.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wholeso-angst?

Rain pattered against the window; the sky darkened, spots of blue poking from between the layers of cloud. It made the house feel tranquil, along with the addition of Hank playing an old record. He’d convinced Connor not to continue working, so now they could spend some time together. Indoors.

Connor was situated between Hank’s legs on the living room floor, a damp dog laying not too far away. Hank pulled out his memory crate for Cole’s things, or at least one of many, but these memories he and his ex-wife split between them from an originally bigger box. Just things like toys, or his favourite books that they’d keep as memorabilia when he grew up. Hank’s mum had done the same for him.

They had a book of the alphabet out, a word next to each letter. Hank always wondered why they used xylophone because toddlers had no chance of being able to say it phonetically, but then he couldn’t think of any other word beginning with X except for Xenon. Although, this book used X-Ray.

Connor knew the alphabet, just about, and he could talk, but he had no reading skills anymore. They were only using letters that had pictures of things Connor wouldn’t know, like giraffe and poppy, but apple and banana were made out of a guess, not because he read the word. “La.. Luh.. Loh..” Connor touched the page with his finger, tracing underneath the word. “Loh.. Lolly.”

“Well done. What about M? Do you know that animal?”

“Mm.. Mon.. Moan? Moan key?”

“Monkey.”

“Monkey!” Hank smiled, turning the page. “Ne.. Net.. tle.. Nettle?”

“Mhm.”

“Oct-octopus! They were at the aquarium! They had the.. the.. the ten tickles!” Connor wiggled his arms and kicked his legs. “You remember them daddy? The ten tickles!”

Hank chuckled. “Yes, I remember; but it’s tentacles, with an a.”

“Ten tackles?”

~*~

Hank had never seen a child with such concentration before. Connor had got down a few sounds and was already making Hank help him learn to read properly. He was curious, that was for sure, wanting to learn more and more about the world. “It’s more fun when you don’t know it already!” He’d claimed, shoving a random book at him.

It more turned into Connor listening to Hank reading. He didn’t know what sounds looked like. He heard them, that’s how he could talk, but hearing Hank read the books while seeing what he was saying, helped Connor to remember them. Sometimes the same letters made completely different sounds like ‘pi’ in pig or piece, but the back of his mind said that was fine. It was normal. “Each peach pear plum.” Hank read out, starting their now third book.

Connor liked this one, he’d been read to sleep with it just the other day. He loved the rhymes and the pretty illustrations, as well as the fact it was basically a game of I spy. “There!” Connor smacked the book, his hand over where Tom Thumb was hiding.

Hank didn’t know if Connor simply remembered where everyone was, or if he forgot already; whichever it was, he was having fun smacking all the characters when he spotted them. Again, Hank’s dark thoughts made themselves welcome in the present, telling him none of this would last and none of it really mattered. They hadn’t shown up in a while, keeping themselves at bay and letting him have fun… but happiness didn’t last forever. Not for Hank.

Connor would disappear. He could die. Hell, Hank might die. He could just have a heart attack one day, or not wake up from his sleep. Maybe he died saving Connor? Connor die saving him? It wouldn’t be the first time. “Daddy?”

This could be their last day together. Their last day. Their last hour. Hank’s heart could give out whenever it wanted. Connor could get taken the next time they leave the house, maybe they wouldn’t even make it to the park. Make to the car. Maybe Hank would wake up one morning and Connor would be gone. “Daddy keep reading!” Connor turned round, frowning up at his dad, but then his LED circled yellow. “Daddy what’s wrong?”

Hank’s face was wet but what did he care? What did anyone care? Why was he even still here? What purpose was there to keep living? What- A pair of knees jabbed him in the gut, and two arms went around his neck, then a soft cheek pressed against his own. “C-Con?” Hank dropped the book, hands shaking. “Connor..”

He let out a shaky breath, dropping his aching shoulders. What even just happened? An anxiety attack? Panic? It can’t have been, it wasn’t severe enough to be one.  It was just.. the thoughts and a little bit of shaking. Maybe if Connor hadn’t hugged him it would’ve gotten worse, but his body ached from tensing itself and he could barely place his hand flat on Connor’s back from shaking. What was he even on about? Nothing to live for!? He had Connor right here, and a big lug of a dog right next to them, wet snout poking at Hank’s hip. They weren’t going anywhere… _Maybe-_ They weren’t going anywhere.

~*~

Oh boy, medication time. “Vertigo here I come.” Hank grumbled to himself, shoving the two tablets into his mouth and nearly gagging after half-successfully swallowing them. “Just one more month…”

Connor sat by the front door, staring intently at his left shoe. Which was left again? Was this even his left shoe? The little L written inside would indicate yes. He stuck out his left arm and made an L shape with his fingers, then same on the right hand, dropping his shoe in the process. The one that looked like an L was the right left one… “Ah!” Connor stuck it onto his left foot, then pulled the Velcro strap tight.

Yeah, that felt right.

He proudly ran over to Hank to show off his handiwork and got grumbled praise in return. He was always grumpy after eating those tablets, but he was grumpier when he didn’t take them and Connor had to lecture him. “Can we go park now?” He asked, pulling Sumo’s lead off the sofa and shaking the collar to get the dog’s attention.

Sumo made an excited “Boof!” and started to wag his tail, thwapping against the wall. “Yeah, I’m ready to go.” Connor disappeared into the dog’s fur, trying to do the collar up behind his neck. “Sumo, come!”

It was fairly cold outside so Hank zipped Connor into his winter coat, but he didn’t wear a beanie this time, his light on show. It was a contrast to the dark clothes he wore, making him seem pale in contrast. Autumn was in full effect now, getting colder and colder. It was around 8 degrees (46F), so snow wasn’t a possibility yet, but with the way climate change was going maybe it could come any moment. The world had its chance to help and they did very little with it, it was a miracle they weren’t all dying out yet.

Hank could at least relax knowing Connor wasn’t going anywhere, because today they had Sumo which meant no going into the actual park because the one they were going to didn’t allow dogs in the play area. Connor called it unfair, but Sumo was one of the worst dogs to try and defend because he could probably suffocate three kids at once with his size. He wouldn’t. Ever. But he _could._ “Frisbee!” Connor whined, trying to tug it out of Hank’s hand.

Since he deviated to true toddler, Connor became much more of a pain to play with the dog. If it went further than a couple feet, it went flying into trees or a bush that Hank would then have to trample in and dig through brambles to fish it back out only to repeat the process. If he threw it, Connor couldn’t even comprehend where the frisbee was going before Sumo had already gotten too big of a lead. Years of training.

They reached the long stretch of grass and Connor stood beside the dog, staring doe eyed at the red frisbee. “Ya ready? Straight ahead.” Sumo’s tail wagged faster and he started to growl playfully. “Fetch!”

Connor ran first, trusting Hank to throw it properly. Soon enough the frisbee flew overhead quickly followed by the fluffy giant who was staring up at it to follow its path. He tried to jump the last bit and catch it, but the frisbee hit Sumo smack in the face because of it. Hank burst out laughing while Connor tried to comfort the injured mutt. “Sumo, fetch!” Connor cried, trying to throw the frisbee himself but that hit the dog smack in the face too. “Aaaaaaah I’m sorry Sumo!!” Connor picked it up again and tried throwing it somewhere else, but it didn’t spin properly and hit a nearby bench. “I’m too short for this!”

“You also can’t throw properly. C’mere, stand up on the bench so you’re actually taller than the poor dog’s face.” Hank picked up the slobbered frisbee and shook it to try and dry it off. “Remember what I said last time? It’s all in the wrist, just a flick.”

Connor tried to copy his motion. Hank held Connor’s hand under his own on the frisbee. “We’ll do it together this time then next throw you can do it. Ready? Twist, and.. let go!”

Maybe Hank was putting in a little more force so that Sumo actually had something to chase, but Connor let go when he was told and the frisbee went a little too far right, but it wasn’t terrible. He seemed happy with the result, so Hank stood back and watched them play for a little while. He rarely got these moments with Cole, most of them spent with his mother since he had to work all day, but the weekends if a case didn’t come up was their time together. Cole would play in the park, or nearer the end they walked Sumo as a puppy. Cole chose him. Hank said he could have any dog he wanted, and of course he chose the bounciest and biggest puppy there. Sumo was bigger than Cole within a matter of weeks. “ _Woof!”_

Hank jumped at the sudden noise. That wasn’t a playful bark at all, Sumo was guarding himself. “Ay! What you barking at Sumo?” He barked again, staring at the bushes in front of them. “It’s probably just a squirrel Sumo, give it up.” He patted the dog on the head, but then had to tug his collar to stop him looking.

They got closer to the play area and Hank had to start walking Sumo away from it before he got tempted to jump on the slides. Connor walked behind them, looking wistfully at the climbing frame. It looked _so_ much fun, but he knew Hank would tell him off for going near it because he couldn’t keep an eye on him. Wasn’t that the point of his current existence? He wasn’t going to argue, being safe felt nice.

Connor shivered. What on earth was that? It felt like static in his head. “ _AaaaAAAAH!!”_

“The fuck was that?” Hank hissed, turning to look at the park, but everyone else had stopped to look around as well. “Connor was-“ Hank turned round, seeing Connor making a beeline for the bushes. “Connor!? Connor get back here! Sumo, follow!”

Sumo barked and sped off after Connor, Hank following in tow. Was Connor the one who screamed? It couldn’t have been, it sounded farther away, but then why was he running _towards_ the scream!? Another woman started to cry out a girl’s name. What just happened? Did someone attack? Was it.. _No. It couldn’t be._

Hank’s heart wrenched when he heard Sumo whimper and whine. That wasn’t just a whimper of “ow somebody stood on my tail” that was a _painful_ whimper. He emerged into a small opening between trees, met with Sumo wailing on the ground and a young girl crying and bleeding next to him. No Connor. “Connor!?” Hank yelled, but he didn’t get an answer.

“Caitlyn!” A woman cried, running into their opening.

She couldn’t get a word out before Hank was pointing a finger at her and starting to run further into the woods. “Keep an eye on my dog! The bastard took my son!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nyeh heh heh! The plot thickens! (Finally). I do love me some angst
> 
> I'll see you all next friday! <3


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> feels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for missing last week despite the big cliffhanger! Here's an (accidentally) big chapter to make up for it

Hank must’ve yelled Connor’s name for a good half hour, but he didn’t even have a drop of blood to show him the way they went. He wanted to keep searching and calling for him, but he had Sumo who might be injured sat with a stranger, and he’d broken the protocol of calling in Connor’s disappearance as soon as he went by waiting until he gave up searching himself. They could get his tracker up, right? He had two of them.. That’s all the hope he had to go off as he made his way back to his dog, who still lay on the ground, but the injured girl from earlier was petting him. “Oh my god- thank you so much for staying here.” Hank said to her mother, sat beside her daughter.

“We’re still waiting on an ambulance, whoever attacked her cut her leg and I thought maybe it wasn’t safe to carry her to the car.” Sumo barked for Hank’s attention, his tail starting to wag. “Your dog is lovely, he’s been very good to Caitlyn.”

Hank knelt down and started rubbing the dog’s belly. Sumo’s tail started wagging faster and his mouth opened wide, tongue falling out. “You want to pet him?” Hank asked Caitlyn, “he loves belly rubs.”

Caitlyn smiled and leant forward, rubbing what she could reach without moving her leg. “What’s his name?”

“Sumo.”

“You’re really soft Sumo!”

Hank felt panic bubbling up, but he couldn’t let it out. He inspected Sumo, feeling sick to his stomach when Sumo refused to let him touch one of his front paws. “Don’t be silly boy, I’ll be gentle.” Sumo whimpered when Hank held the leg, but just the gentlest touch hurt the poor pooch. “Broken… He broke my dog’s paw.”

The ambulance came for Caitlyn, and swiftly after the police arrived. “Hank are you alright?” Chris asked in a slight panic. “What happened?”

“The bastard broke Sumo’s fucking paw and ran off with Connor is what happened! I ain’t got a fucking clue where he is, and Sumo needs to get to a vet but he weighs over 200 pounds! How the fuck am I meant to get him there?”

“We could probably get one of the heavy load androids to carry him for you? I’m sure I could just give their office a call.”

“Yeah.. yeah I’d appreciate that.”

The next hour was torturous, waiting for an android to carry his own dog to a vet, then have them x-ray, and discover he had two fractures in the paw and one in his ankle. Did he _step_ on Sumo’s paw? _Stomp_ on it!? “He seems a little bit tender around his ribs, so I think your attacker may have kicked him too.” Hank felt his heart squeeze. “It’s only light bruising so he’ll be absolutely fine, but anything that could affect applies to his paw too.”

Hank just wanted to cry. This is why he couldn’t be happy, if he got too happy something like this happens. What kind of happiness deserved this much torture? “Will he be able to walk?”

“With a heavy limp, but yes. He won’t want to put weight on it, or maybe he won’t put it down at all, some dogs hold it up constantly. They’re hairline fractures, so thankfully he’s not going to need surgery, just a lot of rest and pain killers. Obviously don’t take him for long walks, you might just want to take him into your garden for his business for the first couple weeks. After that gently let him go on, but in three weeks he’ll need to come in for a checkup.”

“Right.. sure.” Hank looked down at Sumo, who was sniffing at his new bright blue cast. “I’m sure I’ll manage that.”

Sumo chose to heavily limp before completely lifting his paw off the ground, which only worsened the limp. Hank had to help him into the car, sat on the front seat since it was lowest to the ground. Hank had his hand on Sumo’s back while they drove home, at least while he wasn’t changing gears, but the large dog cheered up after being fed a treat by the receptionist and now he was sniffing round the back, eyeing Connor’s empty car seat. “I know boy, it’s not right is it? Should be some noise from back there.” Sumo whimpered. “We’ll bring him home, he’ll be back soon.”

His radio buzzed to life, a very static voice coming through. “Hank, you there?” It was Chris.

“Yeah, I’m here.” He picked up the radio to hold it closer to his face. “Any updates?”

“His trackers aren’t working.” Hank nearly choked, but Chris didn’t hear it. “It says one of them has been removed, the other one is damaged. Possibly fried circuits or torn wires somewhere in his knee. We can’t track him.”

“What do you mean you can’t fucking track him!? What about forensics? Anything at the scene?”

“They haven’t said anything yet. Still getting used to the new tech, so results are still coming in. I think a few people are still looking for thirium traces if Connor was bleeding.”

Hank almost hoped he was, just so they could find him… Where would they have taken him? Why was his scanner damaged!? Cyberlife checked him just last week when they went on another supply run! Did the attacker know? Did.. did he beat him!? “I’m sorry, Lieutenant. I’ll let you know if there’s any more updates, Fowler says it’s better for you to stay home for today because of your dog, and Connor might somehow wander home.”

“ _What!?_ I can’t even monitor the investigation of my own fucking child!?” Sumo barked.

“Hey now that’s not what I said at all. He might wander home, you never know. Give Sumo a treat and we’ll update you with anything that comes up.”

~*~

_Rebooting…_

_Missing components: Ax4h6G_

_Damaged components: Kf87d, 54yT7, kL9o9, AsC4d, Ax4h6G2_

Connor opened his eyes and jolted up, whacking his head against a wall. He whined and pushed at whatever was on top of him, now exposed to the bright street light above him. Where..? Everything looked like static, he couldn’t see a clear outline of anything. He had vague memories of running, and being in a car.. “Daddy?” He called out, but nobody was around.

He was on the edge of a street, surrounded by bin bags. It was night, or at least evening with the sky in front of him still tinged orange and pink. The other side of the road was a hotel, behind him were rows of apartments. Where on earth was he? “Daddy!?” He tried standing up, but his left leg crumbled and he fell back down. “Hello!?”

The lamppost became his support, clutching to it as he stood. His left hand wasn’t very strong either, or just anything on his left. Where was home from here? There was a bus stop not too far away, but with a half numb body he wasn’t sure how to make it. He was scared. He was outright terrified.

He made a run for it, tripping three times before he hit his face smack with the waiting bench. Who put that there!? The bus numbers were vaguely familiar at least, but then came the problem of being a toddler. With half working vision. He couldn’t read their destinations, nor the time of their arrival. “Darn it!” He stared up the screen and tried to squint. “Wa..Way..nee? Stat.. State.. U.. U-ni.. v..v..ers…tea.” He vaguely knew what that was, although his pronunciation was off, and he was fairly sure he knew where it was too. Was that where he was or where the bus went?

It was coming in 20 minutes. However long that was. Connor stood next to the bus terminal so he could watch down the road. “Hey little boy.” Connor turned round, a woman carrying a baby stood nearby. “Where are your parents?”

“I-I don’t know.. I’m really really lost.”

The woman stepped closer and crouched down, looking him up and down. She saw the thirium trail down the side of his head and the small cut on his upper arm. “Oh god- well.. where are you trying to go? I might be able to help you.”

“Uhm, the D-P-D. My daddy works there.”

“Oh he’s a police officer! Well the bus I’m about to get on goes right past the DPD, shall we get on together? I’ll stay with you the whole way there.”

Connor nodded, walking closer to the woman. “Yes please.”

They stood together, exchanging polite conversation and each others names until the bus arrived. The woman, Poppy, quickly saw Connor could barely walk and held his hand to help pull him up the step. She would simply pick him up herself, but she was still holding her daughter Emma in her other arm. She did put her daughter down to help Connor up onto the seat, unable to climb up properly.

She was kind, Connor decided, and trustworthy. He couldn’t currently remember anything about his captor, nor did he know how he even got to where he was. He knew something happened, but he couldn’t remember if it hurt or not, and then.. it was just all static. He got outside, somewhere, somehow.. then he.. ran? Then he woke up under a bin sack. “Poppy?”

“You alright, Connor?”

“Mm. What day is it? Is it Toosday?”

“No, it’s Wednesday today. Were you in the park yesterday?”

“Yeah.. I-I don’t know where I’ve been. Why has it been a day? Why didn’t anyone come find me!?” Connor started to whine, and then cry, putting his face in his hands. “I have a tracker why didn’t anyone find me!?” Poppy knew the one in his head was gone, and she assumed Connor didn’t know that.

“Hey, hey it’s okay.. Sssh, sssh, it’s alright.” Poppy put a hand on his leg, rubbing it. “You’re here now and we’re going to go find your daddy, yeah? He might even still be at work! He might be waiting for you right now.”

“Really..?” Connor sniffed, his LED going from red to yellow.

“Of course! I bet he’s worried sick about you! He’ll be so happy to see you. If Emma went missing I wouldn’t sleep until we found her again.” Connor looked up at her, a little bit of hope in his eyes. “You’re a very lucky boy, some children go missing for weeks! Even longer! But you’re coming home already.”

“Does my dog miss me too?”

“Definitely. Waiting at home for you to give them lots of cuddles.”

Connor smiled, feeling a little better. He looked out the window, watching the buildings go by. When he started to recognise them he got excited, constantly looking at Poppy to be told they were getting off at the next stop. When she did, Connor rushed to get off the seat, tripped, and then limped his way to the front of the bus. “Be careful, try not to trip.”

He jumped out. And tripped. Poppy simply sighed, then held his hand as they walked through the last couple streets. The car park looked practically empty, and Hank’s wasn’t there. Connor still hoped Hank might’ve gotten a taxi, or got to work some other way, because Poppy said he would! The stairs were difficult, his left leg not wanting to cooperate very much, like an old man with arthritis. He just wanted to run straight in to find Hank, or Gavin as a second best. Just a familiar face would be nice at this point. Poppy spoke with the receptionist, holding Connor’s hand so he didn’t run off ahead. The receptionist sighed in relief, but told them Hank wasn’t in, he was home to help his dog recover. “Is Sumo okay!?” Connor asked, but he wasn’t heard. “Did he get hurt?”

Poppy started walking away, so he followed her through. “Uncle Gammon!” Connor yelled, pulling away from Polly and limping through the office.

Gavin almost spat out his coffee, a bit dribbling down his chin when Connor whacked into his legs. “What the f- Connor!?” The small boy clutched at Gavin’s jeans, starting to cry in relief. “Y-you’re back.” Gavin looked over at the woman who was approaching him, and damn was she attractive. “Did you bring him here?”

“Uh- yes, I did. I found him by a bus stop. You’re his uncle?”

“No we’re not related at all. I keep trying to stop him calling me it but.. well he’s persistent. You said you found him at a bus stop? Where exactly?” Gavin tried to push Connor off his leg before people saw them, but it was probably way too late for that. “Sorry- I need to call his dad, is it alright if I ask you a few things? I’m the guy on the serial killer case.”

“And do you have a name?”

“U-uh- right! Reed, uh- Gavin Reed, detective.” He blushed a slight red.

“Well, detective Reed, I think I can spare a few minutes. As long as Emma here doesn’t mind.. we were just heading home from day care, she’s probably getting hungry.”

“W-well you’re allowed to.. y’know, if you want.”

“It’s alright.”

Gavin went even more red. “Take a seat here, I’ll be right back.” Gavin tried to walk towards the breakroom but Connor still gripped to him, so he was forced to pick him up instead. “C’mon, we’ll go somewhere quiet. Ring your dad, and check you over.”

Connor made a whimpering noise, tucking his face into Gavin’s neck. The breakroom was empty since it was mid evening, so Gavin put Connor on the table. He whined about being let go but Gavin kept pushing back until Connor gave up. He could’ve just shoved him off, but who knew what damage he already had judging by the state he was in. “Gammon where’s daddy?” Connor asked, itching at the side of his face.

“At home probably. Ya dog got kicked.” Connor’s LED went red. “He’s probably fine, don’t worry about it.” Connor started to sniffle. “Wait- don’t cry! Your dog is fine! Probably!”

“But somebody kicked hiiiiim!”

“Well yeah but.. ah whatever I need to call Hank. One minute.”

~*~

Connor rested his chin on Gavin’s desk, listening to all the footsteps around the office, especially those that appeared after the automatic doors opened or closed. Hank’s were so distinguishable to him, he had completely blocked out Gavin and Poppy’s conversation to listen for the footsteps. If he wasn’t so excited to see Hank again, he probably would have fallen asleep. Gavin’s lap was surprisingly comfortable, and while there was a weak attempt to subtly stop Connor falling off with his arm, it was more irritating than anything because his jacket was rubbing against him. His head popped up, staring at the entrance. “ _Daddy!!”_

Gavin tried to catch him, but Connor flung himself to the ground and was already scrambling to get back up on his feet. He ran, fell, ran, yelled at Hank, fell, then ran again only to fall in Hank’s arms, catching him just before he could smack his face again. Hank choked up, attempting to say a simple hello but it was just a choke. When Gavin rang him to say Connor randomly turned up with someone, he didn’t know what to expect. Gavin said he looked fine, which except for a bit of thirium he did, but his limp was worse than the dog’s!

He thought he could compose himself and feel happy to have him back, and he was certainly ecstatic to see him again but it felt wrong. Instead of his head being filled with joy and relief, it was filled with questions. Where had he been? How did he escape? Was it even the same attacker? Why didn’t his tracker work? “Oh Connor I was so worried.” He knelt on the floor to hold him better, one arm under his legs and the other across his back. “Your tracker wasn’t working, we were all worried about you.”

Connor burst into tears. He’d already cried when he saw Gavin, but Hank broke him. He wasn’t wailing or yelling, but he was incoherently rambling about being scared and lost and cold. Hank gently shushed him, but when Connor started talking there wasn’t any stopping him. “It’s okay son.” Hank kissed the top of his head, lips lingering. “It’s okay now, you’re safe. Get you fixed up and we can go home, see Sumo and give him lots of cuddles. Does that sound like a plan?” Connor nodded, wiping his eyes. “Hey, c’mere.” Hank pulled out a handkerchief and wiped Connor’s face clean, playfully pinching his nose. “Daddy’s got you now, let’s go through.”

He was held in one arm, carried through to Gavin’s desk. Once again Connor blocked out the conversations, his arms around Hank’s neck and his head rested on his shoulder. They weren’t at home, but as long as he was in Hank’s arms he felt completely safe. Everything was okay now. He was safe. Hank said so himself! He wouldn’t lie.

Exhausted and dehydrated, Connor kept moving until Hank had to use both hands to hold him still, but they eventually sat down. He’d closed his eyes and didn’t pay attention to the talking anyway, so he didn’t know why they’d sat down. He made a tired noise and opened his eyes a fraction so he could readjust himself, now choosing to rest against Hank’s upper arm. His favourite jacket, smelt just like him. When his dad’s hand started stroking his hair that was the final straw, he nearly fell asleep in that instant.

He smiled. What could possibly go wrong now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaah we finally reach the part where shit goes down! Ya'll ain't getting much of a break from here on out. I haven't written a single word but I have written the ending probably three times over on my phone and they're all completely different! But more on that when the time comes ;)
> 
> I can't promise next friday there will be another chapter, because ew university work and general life being very busy atm. ~~fuck I have a meeting on monday I completely forgot about it~~
> 
> So hopefully see you all next week! <3<3<3


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a lot of talking

“How many times do I have to tell you he’s a fucking child!?”

“You’ve told me enough times for the rest of my life. It doesn’t change the fact we need to collect evidence! It’s after hours you know I hate coming in late! That’s your job, not mine but this case is too important to wait, so stop being a dick! It’ll barely be ten minutes, Hank, what do you expect us to do?”

“He’s sleeping! It can wait till morning, his memories aren’t exactly going anywhere. He needs to go to Cyberlife, whatever that attacker did has damaged his tracker and the rest of his leg and maybe more.”

“And checking him over and asking questions won’t help?” Hank frowned. “Well you can’t fix something if you don’t know what caused it. For all we know he stepped in a puddle and some water got into his foot. Maybe he wandered off and nobody lay a finger on him. Or maybe, he still has DNA from the killer and we can finally track this guy down! End these killings!”

Hank sighed. “I don’t know why you don’t fire me, you never have anything good to say about me anymore Jeffrey. That kid helped me be a better cop this past year and you haven’t said a single word. Whatever happened to being friends?”

“For fuck’s sake this has nothing to do with the case. The forensics team are bringing their kits as we speak, and _I_ have the authority to turn them away. You don’t. So I suggest you shut your mouth, and wake him up.”

Hank only sighed and stormed out of Fowler’s office. Connor had only just fallen asleep, it seemed cruel to wake him up. Let him rest and process what happened to him. He’d given him to Gavin while he spoke to Fowler, so currently Gavin’s arm had become his pillow, giving the detective pins and needles in his hand. “We gotta wake him up, I’m sure your hand will be thankful.” Hank said, leaning against the desk. “Fowler wants him up, get him poked and scrubbed at for DNA samples they probably won’t even find… he’s slept on both of us, he’s not going to answer any questions at that battery level so really this is all a waste of time.”

“Really? Ugh, it’s getting late I have cats to feed.” Gavin looked down at Connor. “Hey, wake up.” He bounced his head. “Connor.”

Connor whined. His LED whirred to life and settled on blue, briefly going yellow as he took in his surroundings. He whined again and rubbed his eyes, then nuzzling more into Gavin’s arm. “C’mon Con, you gotta stay up. Need to have a look at you.”

He reached out with his arms for Hank, wanting to be picked up. His request was received and Hank held him in his arms, holding him out slightly so he couldn’t cuddle up to him. “Why daddy..?”

“Need to see if the person who took you left any DNA behind. Fowler’s orders.”

“I wanna go home…”

“I know son, it’ll be soon. If you’re too tired to answer questions then just say so, alright? If you’re tired we’ll be able to leave sooner.” Connor nodded, trying to grab Hank’s shirt so he had something to sleep against but Hank held him out at arms length to stop him. “Sorry, but you really gotta stay awake.”

They took Connor to a private room, sitting him on a table. He whined and pushed at the forensics equipment that came near him, but a couple gentle scolds from Hank made him stop. He promised a treat if he behaved, so Connor let forensics wipe at his skin and pick fibres from his clothes. He seemed quite uncomfortable by how close they got, but he didn’t speak up about it.

A mechanic tried looking at the internals of Connor’s leg by opening up a panel (after cutting off his feeling to that leg) but everything was in a such a coil and tangle, it was a wonder he was able to use the leg at all. He said Hank needed to take him to Cyberlife, let the experts look him over. Nothing that was going to keep hurting, Connor claimed to not be in any pain, so he was deemed okay to go home for the night. “I came in for this and we’re not even going to question him?” Fowler complained, looking at his phone.

“The kid is still traumatised, it’s been too long to ask him straight away but not long enough for him to remember everything properly. He’s falling asleep as we speak. Look at him.”

Connor was back in Hank’s arms, hugging his plush Sumo that Gavin found for him; his eyes were shut, but he wasn’t asleep yet. “Tsk, fine. Come back tomorrow.”

“We’re at Cyberlife.”

“Find time! We don’t have any to waste right now. Ask Gavin for questions, get the story yourself out of him. I suppose as his dad you should be able to do that quite easily.”

“Yeah yeah you don’t need to tell me how to do my job. I’ll see you when I see you, I need to take care of my son.”

~*~

Hank couldn’t sleep. Connor sure could, half of his body hidden in Sumo’s belly fur, a heavy paw pressing into his shoulder and his back paws occasionally stretched and kicked Connor in the ankle. Hank was scared he’d close his eyes and wake up to one of them gone. The two things he loved most in this world had both been hurt. Sumo was such a large dog, but he was getting old so his paw would be out of commission for a while, and who knew where to start with Connor. His son.

If they found no trace of the killer, then what? How did he escape? The killer wouldn’t just let him go that was a ridiculous theory. But was he finally getting sloppy? Did he fail to catch him properly? Maybe Sumo hurt them, a bite or a scratch, enough damage to help Connor free himself. Hopefully Connor would remember, but at the same time Hank hoped he wouldn’t so that he didn’t have be stuck with the trauma.

Sunrise. Perfect. Since Connor came to live with him, Hank couldn’t remember a night where he actually saw the sunrise by staying awake the entire night. He’d seen it plenty for cases, but staying awake all night when he really didn’t need to? That’s something university students did, because they could, not because they should. Hank should’ve guessed Connor would sleep through the night, but what if he didn’t? What if he had a nightmare? What if something went wrong? It didn’t, he slept just fine, but now Hank suffered instead.

His heart wasn’t helping either, since Connor disappeared it hadn’t stopped racing and it was starting to make him feel a little breathless. Not even a heart attack and now he had this to deal with forever? He wasn’t ancient, not yet at least.. maybe he _is_ old. Ugh. Maybe fresh air would calm him down.

He took Sumo out to the garden when the dog began to stir, having to pick him up to put him on and off the bed. Sumo had chosen the route of gingerly placing his paw down when he needed to take a step, but every step did make him limp, and until it started to heal and fix itself he wasn’t able to jump or run, and walking was a feat of its own. Hank didn’t trust him going down the two steps to his garden, so he half held Sumo so that his backs legs touched the ground, but Hank had his front paws off the ground; kind of like a three legged race but with a human and a dog. “There you go boy, go do your business.”

Sumo used to enjoy running around the garden in the mornings, chasing any insects he found or barking at birds that perched on the fence. Today, he went to his usual corner, sniffed around, did the do, and came straight back to Hank. He sat down in front of him and whimpered, his face even looking like a pout, but his face was getting more drooped as he got older. “It hurts, doesn’t it?” Hank picked up his back paw and rested it in his hand, reducing the weight put on it. “I promise it’ll get better soon Sumo, just gotta rest it. Take it easy.” He sighed. “You hate medicine, don’t know how I’m going to make you eat your tablets. Turn back to the old cheese method.”

He barked. Hank smiled and hugged the dog. At least he was alive and alright, that was something. He barked again and wriggled out of Hank’s embrace, going up the steps and back into the house. Hank followed, wondering if he heard a knock at the door or something. No; instead he heard the very familiar “Daddyyy?” Coming from the bedroom. “Connor, I’m coming.” He called back, petting Sumo on the way.

Connor was awake, sat up in bed. He looked like Hank did after a hangover; hair all over the place and his eyes still half closed from tiredness. It was kinda funny to look at, a four year old looking like he regretted every decision he’d ever made. “Daddy did you get him?”

“Did I get who?”

“The scary man. He hurt Sumo. Is Sumo okay?”

“Sumo’s fine, he’s got a fractured paw but he’ll be alright.” Sumo was sat beside the bed, tail wagging. “We haven’t caught him yet, forensics haven’t spoken to Gavin or I yet so we don’t know much. It’s only been one night, everyone probably went home for the night.”

Connor shuffled so he could lean against his side. “It’s really hard to move.”

“Huh?”

“My side..” Connor couldn’t move his left arm far, trying to lift it above his head but it stuttered around halfway. “It really really hurts.”

“Then don’t do it. We’ll take you to Cyberlife today, see what’s going on with you. Do you remember anything?”

“Kinda..”

“You wanna tell me about it?” Connor looked unwilling, pouting. “You’ll feel better if you talk about it. Plus, you’ll need to tell someone sooner or later, and I like to hope I’m easy to talk to.”

“O-okay..”

_Connor heard Hank yell at him to come back, but something in his programming told him to keep running towards the static. It could be the killer, and it was his job to catch them! He was going to do this! He was going to do this! “Hey, leave her alone!” Connor yelled, only seeing a tall man over a small girl._

_The man spun round and in a panic, tried to slash at Connor but only got his upper arm. Connor stepped back, going over to the girl to try and shield her with his arms spread out. The man spied his LED and grabbed him by the arm. “C’mere you stupid android. You’re coming with me.” Connor tried to pull away from the grip, yelling at him to let go._

_Sumo came bounding in and immediately tried to bite the man’s arm. “Ah! Fucking dog!” He stomped on Sumo’s paw, making the dog yelp and retract his bite. “Back! Get back!” He kicked him in the ribs and Sumo fell over, whining loudly._

“He hit me with something, I don’t know what it was but it.. it kinda..” Connor wiggled his limbs, trying to impersonate whatever it was. “You have one, daddy! It goes bzz! Bzzzz! And- and people fall down from it!”

“A taser?”

“Yeah! Yeah that!” Hank felt his heart squeeze. The fucker tasered him. “But then I don’t remember..”

_The left side of his body hurt, he could barely see. It was hot. Cramped. Crowded. “Hello?” He called out, but he was answered with silence. He started to kick around, feel what was around him. He should probably panic, but he knew that wouldn’t get him anywhere._

_Something clicked and Connor’s vision got flooded with light, making him squint. Wind rushed into his face, making him shiver. He knelt up, looking around and seeing the world flying by, and spinning a little but that was probably from getting tasered. He was in a car, specifically the boot of a car, and they were moving far too quickly for him to jump out safely._

_Suddenly the car skidded to a stop so Connor leapt out before he could question why. His left leg almost gave out when he landed but he ran as best he could. There was nowhere to hide. Everything was exposed! Where even was he!? Was he in Detroit anymore?_

_He screamed when someone grabbed hold of him, hoisting him up into the air. “No! Please! Please let me go!” He begged, thrashing in the hand. “Please I wanna go home!”_

_“I’m sorry.”_

“Then I fell asleep.. I woke up by the bin bags and then I met Poppy.” Connor looked up at Hank. “I swear daddy I don’t remember anything else! I promise! I’m not lying!”

“Hey, I never said you were lying.” Connor looked ready to cry, but he just looked ahead at the bedroom wall and got cuddled up with Hank. “Thank you for telling me.. come on, let’s get ready for today.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap this fic has 8000 hits now thank you all so much!! I'm sure it helps having 24 chapters but <333333 Love you all ^^


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I return!!! For anyone who didn't see my tumblr post I had a lot of uni deadlines and that meant a lot of last minute work.. Schedule should be back now! Apologies that this chapter is absolutely all over the place, probably a few plot holes but heh I'm bad at filler ;w;

Connor was put to sleep for his checkup at Cyberlife, avoiding any pain or fear he might have seeing his leg and arm being taken off. He was woken up afterwards, but he fell asleep in the car ride home. He didn’t say much about yesterday, nor did he particularly want to, but the time at home was spent less playing and more lying wherever Sumo was with Hank’s tablet to do random things on. He seemed to enjoy pretending -unless he was actually convinced- that Sumo watched YouTube videos with him, so Hank left him to it.

Maybe what happened yesterday was finally getting to him; their chat this morning seemed alright, but Connor had been half asleep and in a lot of pain. With pain gone and being wide awake, sorta, his brain was starting to process things properly again. Hank could hear giggling every now and again, so he assumed he was alright.

The whole atmosphere of the afternoon just felt.. slow. Sumo wasn’t walking around begging for food, and Connor wasn’t bouncing around like he’d drunk seven energy drinks. Hank didn’t feel as old when Connor bounced around, his energy made him think he was a little younger again, but today he felt like the old slug he really was. In this day and age, at 54 he should only be about halfway through his life, but just a few years of chronic drinking and smoking could ruin a man. When would his heart next fuck up? He freaked out at a pile of bodies, but if Connor became one of those bodies? What would his heart do then? Even sat with his dog watching videos Hank could feel his heart pumping a little harder than it should.

His phone pinged. His work phone. He sighed before picking it up, a text requesting the both of them come into the office asap. Work was one of the last places Hank wanted to be, anything could go right or wrong there. The rest of the text said they got evidence from Connor’s jacket, and a debriefing of the findings was going to be held in an hour.

This was really happening then. _They found evidence._ They could have a name, an ID, a vehicle, a home address!? “Hey Con, they managed to get evidence off of your clothes.” The boy paused his video and looked up, LED spinning into yellow. “All that swabbing and touching wasn’t for nothing, but they’re doing a briefing about it and they expect both of us to attend.”

Connor whined and nuzzled up against Sumo in protest, hiding under one of his legs. “You alright, Con?” He got a stare as an answer. “Why aren’t ya speaking?”

Hank got up to kneel in front of him and Sumo, both squeezed into his dog bed. “Hey, speak to me.” Connor remained silent, now avoiding eye contact too. “Do you feel alright? Sick? Pain?” Connor just shook his head and whined again, engulfed in Sumo as the dog lifted his head only to rest it on top of Connor’s. “Well if you’re just not feeling like it then that’s alright. Can I at least touch you? Give you some help putting on your coat or your shoes.”

Connor agreed to the help, but he did attempt climbing into the car on his own and even did his own buckle. Hank chose to just leave him alone, not carrying him into work but holding his hand and walking side by side. He held close to his Sumo plush, holding it near his face for comfort. He looked ready to cry on a couple occasions, but he wouldn’t open up about it.

They walked through to a conference room, a few other officers from other departments already sat down with notepads in hand. Hank found it interesting how all the officers had notepads, except anyone probably under 40/45 had a tablet or nothing at all. Gavin sat at the front, no pad in hand. Hank sat in the second seat of the third row, Connor taking the end seat and climbing up himself while Hank weighed it down with his arm. Hank ruffled his hair, but Connor didn’t sound too pleased about it.

Fowler stood at the front, moving to the podium once everyone was settled. “First of all, thanks for all showing up because we need as many men as we can get. To get everyone up to speed, the android serial killer we have been trying to catch for nearly three months is almost in our grasp. Our once RK800 unit Connor, who is here today as the toddler next to you, was briefly caught but to his current memory we don’t know if he escaped on his own or if the killer let him go; but, we got human fingerprints from his jacket.”

Fowler pressed a button and a picture was projected onto the screen behind name. “They’re from a man named Frederick Miller, a 58 year old man with a history of android abuse. Before the Android Abuse Act of 2038, his fines were added up to almost two million dollars, and he got all that money from dealing red ice in Greektown. Never married, no living family that we can find on record, but we have an address.

“At this house could be his plans for his next attack, more android children, but whatever it is we need our best men on it. Detective Reed is the leader of the investigation, do we have volunteers to go to this house?”

Hank looked around the room, wondering who had the guts to visit a serial killer. A surprising amount, but what surprised him most was the hand in his peripheral. He looked to his left, shocked to see Connor’s hand in the air. “Connor?” Fowler questioned. “You want to go?”

Connor frowned at him. “Why would I put my hand up if I didn’t?”

Fowler looked to Gavin who shrugged. “Well, welcome back to the team. Gavin, make sure he has something to wear and for god’s sake don’t give him a gun.”

“I’m not an idiot.” Gavin rolled his eyes and stood up, turning to look at everyone. “Well, everyone who’s coming follow me and we’ll get some bulletproof jackets. Connor, that toy can’t come with you.”

“ _Gavin!”_ Hank exclaimed, standing up quickly enough to knock his chair over backwards. “You can’t be serious! Connor can’t go with you he’s a toddler! They’re probably on the lookout for him if he wasn’t meant to escape, they could snatch him up and kill him!”

“Or, he could be used like before as bait to entice them out. He’s got two trackers in him, and they only took out one last time so they clearly still don’t know about the other. He volunteered, you going to stop him?”

“Of course I’m-“ Connor tugged at his sleeve, distracting him.

“Daddy I wanna go… I..” He was having what he called ‘adult thoughts’ again, where since his second deviancy he occasionally thought about work or things that came up on the news, and his opinions were far more sophisticated than they should be. “I just wanna..” The downside to these thoughts, was that he lacked the skills to verbalise them properly. “I wanna help. I wanna be like you, and catch the scary man that took me.”

“Con it’s far too dangerous for someone your age, and size quite honestly. They’re looking for you, if they see you they’ll take you!”

“But we’re in his house. Cops are sneaky, and sneaky people don’t get caught. Did you ever get caught daddy?”

“Of course I have. I’ve been a cop since before Gavin was even born. It’s too dangerous!”

“I’m going! I’m still a cop! I get to choose! You’re my daddy but you’re still my partner!” Gavin snickered in the background. “I’m going! Lemme go! I waNT IT TO BE OVER!!!”

The room went silent. Want it to be over? Want _what_ to be over? The case? That was fair, but he didn’t need to shout about it. Somehow, Hank looked like he was the baddie in this situation, given looks and stares of ‘let Connor go’. “You’ve all got to be kidding me!” Silence. “Idiots, the lot of you!”

Connor had gone quiet again. At Gavin’s call, he got off his seat and walked over to the detective, walking side by side. Gavin looked back at Hank, opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind and looked down at Connor to make sure he wasn’t walking too fast.

This was insane, but in truth this was what Connor was meant to have been doing all this time. He used to go out on the investigations, he used to still analyse everything, but when his new code began to take over it all got flipped on his head which only benefitted Hank in the long run. The investigation slowed, Connor got traumatised by anything and everything at the time, but Hank was happy with it. Nobody else. What use he’d be at the house, they weren’t sure yet, but he could identify his kidnapper if he was there, and hopefully his logical brain was running so he could decipher anything they found. The target locations couldn’t simply be picked out of a hat, the killer probably had some complex puzzle, and Connor would know how to solve it if nobody else.

Gavin found a random jacket in Connor’s size, and he filled the pockets with solid items. They couldn’t exactly get a bulletproof vest for him, this was the best they could do, but Gavin knew if there was any danger Connor would be told to run back to the cars or be behind everyone away from the action. It was probably worth telling Hank that to ease his worries, but they had to leave. “Hey, wear this.” Gavin handed him a kid size bike helmet. “Protect your head.”

“I’m not gonna fall over.” Connor took it anyway.

“No, but we have helmets too. Some SWAT people are coming with us, they’ll be wearing helmets too.”

Connor’s helmet was a bright blue bike helmet, but it fit, just about. Gavin knelt down and helped to tighten the buckle, stopping it from wiggling around too much. It was the best he could do. Connor forced Gavin to hold his hand, much to the detective’s dismay. He was still trying to be embarrassed with Connor around, although everyone else just thought it was quite cute.

Hank tried to get himself to go on the trip, but Fowler refused on medical grounds. The stress of the operation could be too much on his heart, and Hank tried to say the stress of not being there to protect Connor was harmful too, but then Fowler said that was growing onto over-protection. “I’ll be okay daddy!” Connor said, pushing his helmet up so it wasn’t in front of his days. “If I just copy what you do I’ll be okay.”

“What does that even mean, Connor?”

“You always do stuff really well. So if I do what you do, I’ll come back.” Hank still looked confused. “You don’t fail, so I won’t fail!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! You’re a hero!” Hank supposed he should feel touched, but Connor sure had a weird way of showing it. “I’ll be like you when I’m big again.”

“Well.. thank you? Just do everything Gavin says, and stay at the back so you’re safe.”

“I promise.”

Gavin came over to lead him away, a hand on his upper back. “You ready Connor?”

Connor grinned. “I was born ready!”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes it's Sunday but shshshhhhh chapters will be getting long now shit ain't getting happier

The house was down a fairly downgrade street that was known for petty crimes. Much like the rest, paint was chipping off the walls, mould crept up the cracks, and an upstairs window had a hole in it which was badly patched up with tape to keep out the wind. Two cars were on the driveway, and a downstairs window was open. “Looks like someone is inside. Surround the building, listen out for anything. Everyone’s earpiece working?”

Even Connor had one, sellotaped to the side of his head so it didn’t fall out. “Affirmative.” They all said.

“Affer-meat-if.” Connor then said, causing a collective heart wrench in the group.

“Connor, you stay with Mark, I’m going at the front of the group and if there’s any danger we can’t have you anywhere near it. Understand?” He nodded. “Good. Then let’s go.”

Connor started to walk ahead but got pulled back by who he presumed was Mark, but behind his helmet he could barely see what his face looked like. Mark held his arm, a gun in his other hand that was pointed at the ground. Connor stumbled over himself in an attempt to keep up, now squeezed between two of the officers against the front wall. He made a noise to indicate he wanted to speak, but he was promptly shushed.

Mark was in front of him. He’d told Connor to hang onto his belt, so when he started moving Connor jogged forward to keep up. Mike took a sharp left, moving into what looked like a dining room. He waved his gun through the room, keeping his back to the wall so Connor was shielded. The house was silent. Not even the sound of a breeze through one of the many open windows. Barely even the footsteps of the other officers.

About a minute passed. They hadn’t moved. A voice yelled from upstairs. Then another, and it started going around the house. “Clear! Mark yelled, followed by the people back outside the room. “It’s safe now.”

“Where’s uncle Gafin?” Mark frowned at him. “Is the house empty?”

“Yes. Everyone said clear, meaning all the rooms are empty. If everyone is silent for long enough, we assume the area is clear.”

“So I can walk around now? For effidence?”

“Sure. Make sure someone is always in the room with you though, okay? We’ve had some extremely sneaky hiders in the past. I’m going to start checking cupboards.”

“Okay.”

Connor walked back out to the hallway, two officers milling around. He looked up at the paintings, and grinned to himself when he was able to scan it. “E’scuse me.” Connor tugged at one of the officers. “Do you have a picture of Fredewick’s fingerprint?”

“Uh- no, sorry kid.” Connor pouted, but he walked away and started to scan things around him.

Like before, he’d noticed trying to use more advanced technology taxed out his energy, but it seemed he’d have to find Frederick’s fingerprints himself. Being his own house, it shouldn’t be too hard. There were some clear ones on a table, so once he’d got those into his head, he was able to scan the whole room at once with traces of his DNA. It was everywhere, to be expected, but what wasn’t expected, was the thirium on the walls.

Connor frowned. He went to the stairs and followed the trace upwards, each trace becoming fresher as there was more of it. “Connor! Where’s Mark? I told you to stay with him.” Gavin said, coming out one of the rooms, a thirium stain on one of his boots.

“Mark said I could look around if an officer was in the room too. Why do you have thi-ri-um on your shoe?”

Gavin looked down at his foot, angling it to the side. “Well, you may as well come see what we found. You can still do all that weird tasting shit right? I’m not just showing you a dead body for no reason?”

“I can try!”

Good enough. Gavin went back into the room and told everyone to step aside for him. Connor found that going straight into scanner mode made seeing dead people slightly less traumatic, but seeing a mutilated android made him want to throw up. He made a gagging sound when he walked closer to them, then realised to his left were two more bodies. Human. “Fred isn’t here.” Connor said aloud, looking round at the officers. “Where is he?”

“We don’t know. Haven’t found his body anywhere, so he’s probably just out the house. Don’t worry the people back at the DPD are looking into it at the moment, you just focus on ID-ing these people.”

Right.. Well, android first. Connor knelt down and swiped his thumb through the thirium, promptly sticking it in his mouth afterwards. An AX400 model, male, activated 7 months ago, deviated: no. No? That was illegal. Assigned name, Paul.

Three gunshot wounds to the chest, cause of death: loss of thirium. LED missing, left arm twisted backward. “HsnamesPl.” Connor took out his thumb. “Paul was an AX400 but he didn’t go dev-iant. But that’s illegal. He died less than an hour ago.”

“Alright, so the killer was here recently, and he was hiding an un-deviated android in his house. Anything else about him? Can’t you get into their memories or something?”

“Only if they’re alive. He’s not.”

“Well can we make him back alive?”

Connor started to scan the android when it suddenly lurched up. The android gripped his arm and forced images into his head before Connor had the chance to scream. Thirium. Blood. Gun barrel. Piles and piles of children. Children bound up. Children shot. Children screaming in agony. Children crying. Children _tortured._

His vision flashed to white and he screamed at the pain in his head. “ _OOOOOW!!”_ He cried, falling backwards and curling up in a ball.

He sobbed his eyes out, writhing around in pain. His LED spun red, almost quick enough that is was one full colour. He knew some of the officers said his name, but he kicked at them to try and make them go away. It felt like someone had shot him in the head! Why did it hurt so bad!? “Connor you’re not hurt why on earth are you screaming!?”

That he listened to. “My head hurts!”

“Your head? What, from falling over!?” Gavin huffed, quickly losing interest in Connor’s whining.

“It feels like someone shot me in the heeeeead!”

“Shot you in the..?” Someone did just shoot the android so that they’d let go of Connor, who had looked like he was having a seizure, but that wouldn’t have got across would it?

Connor calmed down from his pain and stood up again, now angrily crossing his arms. He scolded the officer that shot the android, calling him ‘naughty’ for killing them. Then, he simply turned on his heel and started working on the two human women on the opposite side of the room. From clothing and staining, Connor received information he was certain was rather.. mature, but it barely phased him. All those images the android sent him were whirring through his processors, leaving him in a form of calm shock. He could work, he talked as professional as he could. The simulation of dying didn’t exactly help either, it could be a foreshadowing for his own future if they didn’t get the killer first.

He looked through the whole house, scanning things of apparent interest to everyone else, but the man was nowhere to be found. Connor was stood in the living room, staring at the bookshelf. Most of them collected dust, but a select few had less, and one was almost pristine and looked worn. He considered maybe Frederick just enjoyed reading that book, but if he read it so much then why bother to keep putting in back on the bookshelf? “Uncle Gaffin!?” He called through the house.

Gavin walked through, a tinge of pink to his cheeks. “What did I say about calling me that? What is it?”

“I can’t reach that book.” He tried pointing to it. “The purple one.”

“This?” Gavin pulled it, the book only coming halfway out before getting stuck.

The wall clicked. It felt like they were in some kind of book, or really bad cop show, but the bookcase actually pushed to the side and exposed a door that looked like one leading to a vault. Gavin pushed Connor back in case somebody opened it, but the door didn’t budge. Two more officers came to investigate, one turning the handle while the others stood to the side. It could simply be an oversized safe, or this bad cop show could continue into a secret lair.

And bad cop show it was. The room was badly lit from a lack of any windows, but three monitors sat on a desk, switched on. One wall hung a huge corkboard, pictures and post it notes pinned to it; another held a map, pins and string connecting areas all over it, but if there was a pattern it wasn’t immediately clear. It was bare, except for the mess of wrappers and paper all over the floor, so nowhere to hide. “Okay Connor, you can come in. Nobody here.”

Gavin stayed by the entrance, looking around at it all. “Connor?” He looked back out to where he had been stood, but he wasn’t there. “Connor?”

“Gaf-aaAAAAAGHHHH!!” Silence. “Help! H-“ _Thump._

“Don’t none of you fucking move!” Somebody shouted. “Nobody move or I slit his throat!” Gavin ran back out, rushing to the hallway where two others stood. “Back off! What did I just fucking say!? Move and he gets it.”

Gavin pulled out his gun, but the whimpers of Connor made him refrain from pulling the trigger. “Connor is just collateral we’re allowed to spare. I could shoot you through him and we’d both get what we’re after. You dead, and your last kill.” Connor looked terrified, hands pulling at the one over his mouth.

Frederick held him, a knife to his throat. His eyes were bloodshot, his clothes stained with blood. His other hand gripped Connor’s face, nails digging into his cheek. “Why should I believe any of that shit? Why should I believe a word you say?”

“You’re smart, figure it out. That kid only exists so we could catch you, whether he dies or not doesn’t matter to us.” Connor started to cry, shaking his head. “Either you both die, or you let him go and come with us. This sick game of yours is over.”

A red dot appeared on his shoulder, slowly moving up to his head. “Never!”

Frederick pushed Connor forward and plunged the knife into his back. Connor screamed and fell over, giving Frederick a small timeframe to turn and run. Bullets fired after him, two hitting him in his right shoulder, but he only stumbled and kept running. “After him!” Gavin yelled, “don’t stop firing!”

Two followed, firing their guns but with only their pistols it was hard to aim on the move. Frederick scrambled for his car, fumbling with the lock and clambering inside. A bullet shattered the window and he flinched away, shoving the keys into ignition. It couldn’t end like this! He still had plans! He still had to kill that stupid kid! Nobody escaped him, especially not twice! He’d torture him. He’d burn him! Drown him! Beat him until his skin turned off!

The car lurched into reverse, whacking into a nearby car before speeding off. Officers tried shooting the car, someone smashing the back window, but it was fruitless. They couldn’t shoot a moving car, but with the plate memorised, they could at least track the car through CCTV. “Connor! Connor talk to me!”

Gavin knelt by his side, trying to see the damage. “My.. back hurts..” He sobbed, but he was moving around.

“Wait..” Gavin gently pulled the knife out, but Connor didn’t make too much discomfort. “Aren’t you hurt?”

“A little.. you put a book down my back.” Connor took off the jacket, the clothing landing with a thud on the ground, including a book with a hole in it.

His top still had a tiny bit of thirium where the tip cut through, but he didn’t say anything about it. “Why do you say you were gonna let me die!?” He yelled, throwing a stone at him. “You were gonna shoot me! How could you!? I trusted you!!”

“No-no-Connor, that was a lie! I only said those to try and psych the guy out. If he didn’t want to die then his only option was to let him go. We had a sniper upstairs, he was going to shoot but Frederick moved before we had the chance. I’m sorry, okay? I had to think on my feet.”

Connor was sobbing again. He shook his head, but when Gavin hugged him he didn’t protest. “He said was gonna take away my voice and watch me bleed…” His voice was shaking, almost as much as the rest of him was. “He w-wanted t-t-to sh-shoot me and w-watch me die. H-he wanted to m-make you watch too…”

“Hey, it’s alright.. he’s just trying to scare you. Don’t let him get to you.” Gavin picked him up, keeping the wailing child close to him. “We’ve seen him, we shot him, his car is damaged and we know the plate. I doubt you have to do anything now, just stay home and stay safe.”

“I’m scared Gaffin, I’m scared!”

“You’re okay Connor.. you’re going to be okay.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I mean idk anymore, it's all good but then it spirals

Gavin had removed his protective gear by the time they got back, so Connor went straight in and ran for Hank. He had been crying nearly the entire journey and only stopped once he was enveloped in his father’s arms again. Hank tried to be angry at the team for letting him get so frightened, but everything had gone to plan and Connor gave great help, the android ‘attack’ and Frederick appearing couldn’t have possibly been planned. Where on earth could he have been hiding?

They tried to get information about what the android showed him, but Connor ending up screaming at them to leave him alone. He was absolutely terrified, he hid inside of Hank’s turned up jacket collar, Bryan plush under one arm. He tried to relax, making whimpering sounds and rubbing his irritated skin against Hank’s rough hair. Connor made a contempt sound, relaxing a little bit.

Hank stuck around to hear about the mission and their findings in the house, listening to the lecture since Connor managed to fall asleep. He still made noises, but nobody else could hear them. “So what we learned, I’m still not really sure, but we have Rachel from cryptography give them a look over and she’ll describe what on earth it all meant.” Gavin stepped away from the podium.

Rachel stepped up, a dark skinned woman with hair bleached pale blue. “We started with his map, hoping we could plot his next location if he still plans to attack, but unfortunately using every algorithm we think his attacks were truly randomised. There was no correlation to repeated attacks in his highest yielding parks; in fact a sheet tallying where he’d been showed his favourite location was just his local park, which he only took seven toddlers from.”

 _Seven too many.._ Hank thought. “As for the string, it was for emphasis to boost his own ego. The computers had a minimum of three encryptions for everything we tried to access, there was no master key to unlock everything all at once, but we found the coordinates for the warehouse where Lieutenant Anderson’s team went last month, we have people searching the premises now to see if Frederick has returned since. His emails were standard, and his text messages showed his recent plans, but as Detective Reed found, all the recipients of those texts were dead in the upstairs bedroom.

“As for the android, Cyberlife are picking away at his memory core to find everything, and we’re waiting on Connor to tell us what happened between their altercation.” Hank held him a little tighter. “Both of them had their skin peeled back, so whether it was images or a cry for help, something was transferred between them. The text told us that the android was the one who kidnapped these children, hence the no fingerprints; one woman was the driver, the other seemed to be the backup, she wasn’t anyone important. Frederick was like the gang leader, he made his minions do the dirty work, but he saved the executions for himself. He shot them, that’s all he did. The android tortured the children and hung them up in all their… poetic, variations. In fact, he had a folder of hundreds of poems, all of them either involving explicit ideas of death or lines that could be twisted that way; for example the ‘till death do us part’ from last Wednesday, the two girls holding hands.

“We predict his next attack, if there is one, will be near wherever he ends up. CCTV all over Detroit are looking for Frederick or his car. He can’t get far with a bleeding shoulder.”

So the guy had turned to poetry? The last one Hank investigated he still used stupid sayings, but he probably ran out and moved onto poetry of all things. Poetry could be pretty grim. What would Connor have ended up with? Could he still? Twice he’d almost got his son, the guy had to hold a grudge at this point. Might not even hesitate next time. Kill him point blank.

After that lecture ended, Hank took Connor home to hopefully cheer him up, but he threw up his dinner and spent the entire night getting plagued with nightmares. Hank barely got to sleep a wink, trying in vein to stop the nightmares by holding Connor close, but with an hour gap at most he would be woken by a cry, a scream, or eventually just the quiet whimpers. Hank resorted to forcing him into sleep mode, but even that didn’t work. He had given up by 4am, using black coffee and random TV shows (mostly teleshopping at this point) to keep himself awake. At least Sumo got some sleep that night.

Connor stomached breakfast, or half of it at least, because the first half he accidentally squeezed onto his face from a nervous twitch, but at least he laughed about it. He almost seemed a little calmer once Connor ‘woke up’ a bit; his battery was low, but he didn’t claim to be particularly tired when he sat down to watch cartoons. He was smiling, that’s all that mattered at the moment.

During the afternoon, Hank got a call from Fowler. They were in the supermarket currently, and Connor was in the trolley seat playing with a couple figurines. “What do ya want, Jeffrey? I’m shopping.” Hank answered.

“Hello to you too, lieutenant.” Oh, so this was a work call. “Gavin was telling me about the case, and he said it was safe to assume that Frederick is on the lookout for Connor.”

“I suppose that’s a possibility.” He picked up a packet biscuits, inspecting the sugar content. “Why? We’ve got our guy, I’m not putting Connor in any more danger.”

“Let’s not start that debate over the phone again, Hank. You gotta keep taking Connor to parks, and popular ones, close to this guy’s home. You saw the map yesterday of the popular pickings, so go to those. Starting _today._ ”

“No deal.” He now hissed, catching Connor’s attention.

“Yes deal. You saw him volunteer, hand straight up in the air. He still has information regarding the android that grabbed him, and you keeping him away from the precinct isn’t helping at all. I’m starting to wonder if you’re sheltering him, Hank. Maybe Connor wants to help this case and you’re not letting him. Let me speak to him.”

“Absolutely not. Neither of us slept last night, he had nightmare after nightmare and you want to tell me he actually wants to help!?”

“There’s a little thing called ‘doing the right thing’, something you clearly haven’t heard of in a long time. Remember Alexandra? The red ice case? You could’ve just quit after that, seeing the DPD’s therapist for three weeks, but you kept going because it was the right thing to do. Sure, the kid deviated, but he clearly still acts like he should do sometimes and you’re reducing it. They’re windows of opportunity! Take them! For fuck’s sake this must be the billionth time I’ve had to say this! Now let me speak to him! What’s the worst he could say?”

Hank grumbled, but he offered out his mobile to Connor, warning him about dropping it. Connor held it with both hands, then tried to hold it to his ear. Fowler talked a little loud for his liking, but he didn’t have the finger length to reach the side of the phone to turn it down. “I don’t know.. yeah.. I wanna.. no! Daddy doesn’t-“ He got cut off. “No.. no..but-” His LED circled yellow. “But I-“ He looked more distressed every time he got cut off. “I-I will. I knew.. I know.. Okay.” Connor offered it out, the call now ended.

“What did he talk to you about, Con?” Connor stayed quiet. “Tell me.”

“I don’t wanna.. you’ll be mad at me.” His LED stayed yellow and he sank in his seat, looking a little defeated.

“What? I won’t get mad at you, Con.”

“Yeah you will.. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“Alright. I’ll ask you later, let’s finish shopping for now.”

Connor stopped playing with his toys too, occasionally looking at them and moving them around, but then he’d sag again as his imagination failed to bring up anything interesting enough to distract his mind from that phone call. Fowler was right about everything he said, and Connor knew that, he knew it all along, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

When they reached the checkout, waiting in a queue, Connor spoke up. “Daddy, can we go to the park? The one by the bridge.”

“You want to go to the park?” Connor nodded. “Really?” Another nod. “Well alright then, we’ll go after we put the shopping away at home. Any reason?”

“I just wanna go! The park is fun.”

Hank smiled a little. “Well I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Yeah.. Better..

~*~

Connor knew why he was at the park, and he was going to try and have actual fun. Hank pushed him on the swings as he cried to go higher and higher, wanting to be parallel to the ground there was no way Hank was allowing that. “Daddy I’m higher than you!” He cried as he swung by, currently a pendulum while Hank stood to the side.

“Yeah you sure are Con! You’re almost reaching the moon!”

“I’m gonna swing to the moon!” Connor leaned forward, reaching up to the sky. “Daddy if you push me higher I’ll reach it!”

“Nah Con, daddy’s tired.” Connor looked at him. “Why don’t you go play on the frame, yeah? Go practice your climbing skills.”

Hank brought him to stop and plucked him out the swing, putting him down on the bark. Hank kissed his cheek on the way down, Connor making a half disgusted sound. He let the kid run off, climbing up beside another child who excitedly started talking to him about them both being androids.

Hank sat on the bench and sighed. It was good to see Connor feeling happier, albeit slightly suspicious, but he was talking to another boy as they climbed up the string tower. Hank knew he shouldn’t, but he pulled out his phone. His heart still beat too fast for his liking, and he still didn’t think it was down to stress. Maybe he ought to see a doctor, but he’d need a babysitter for Connor and that wasn’t going to happen, and he couldn’t bring him because his adult mind would understand what was going on. He’d figure it out at some point.. just not right now.

He looked back up at the tower, but Connor had presumably climbed down again even though the other boy was still there. Slide? Swings? Rocking animals..? His phone rang in his pocket, a ringtone that made his heart sink. Connor had changed his own ringtone to a theme tune from one of his programs, and now it was blaring in his pocket. “Connor..?” Hank answered, looking around in circles. “Where are you?”

“Daddy help me! I made a mista-AGH!!” Connor started to whimper. “Help me!”

“Tell me where you are! What happened? I’m gonna come find you.”

“Fred! He- AAAGH!!” Hank could hear Fred yelling at him, telling him to hang up. “Daddy please help me! I don’t wanna die anymore! I changed my mind! Daddy please!!”

“Connor you’re gonna be okay, just tell me where you are! I’ll get Gavin and everybody tracking you, okay?”

“AAA-A-A-“

The line went dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is probably gonna be long af so be prepared for that!


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just trust me on this

“It’s real this time? He’s not wandered off? Not going to escape and be brought back?”

“Of course it’s fucking real! He said it himself, Fred has him! He tasered him! I heard it myself! Everything was static, he tried to scream, and then the line went dead!”

“If you keep shouting at me Hank you’re not going to be put on the pursuit team.”

“And yet fucking Gavin Reed is allowed? He’s a detective!”

“Who is looking to climb up the ranks, while you seem to be ready to go back down, _lieutenant._ ” Hank huffed. “You don’t get to order me around, Reed is perfectly capable for this job as is _shown_ from his _success_ in this case already. If you feel like you’ve calmed down and got some damn sense back into your head, go talk to him about what’s going on. It’s his case, not mine.”

Hank grumbled and stormed out of Fowler’s office and straight to the huddle of people around Gavin who was stood next to three monitors. “Need to get- oh Hank, how nice of you to join us. You sure you’re mentally sane enough for this? Physically?”

“The fuck you talking about? O’course I am, get on with it.”

Gavin shrugged, but gave him a brief stink eye. “As I was saying then, we need to get a good vantage point of the area, in case Frederick decides to run and it will be easier than chasing on foot, but if he does run do still pursuit him, we can’t let him get away because _if-“_ Gavin looked at Hank. “-Connor is dead, then we have no new way of catching him again. He’s wounded, he shouldn’t be able to get far running again. Have someone on standby near his vehicle.

“He’s stationary right now.” He patted a monitor. “I don’t know if they’ll stay there, or if Connor is even with Frederick, but from what lieutenant Anderson told me he turned static and the line cut out, which is enough of an indicator to say he was taken and didn’t just wander off. But the plan, if they stay here, is we aim for all entrances, and on my signal we enter all at once. I’ll give more details once we’re at the sight. Is everyone clear?” Everyone gave a curt nod. “Gear up. We leave in 15.”

Hank stayed put. “You hear me old man? Cut your emotional bullshit and get ready. If you’re coming, we’re leaving in fifteen minutes. Shoo.” He waved his hand in a random direction and walked off to his desk where a vest was already laid on his chair.

He sat down in the chair and took in a deep breath, strapping into his vest and pulling his gun out the top drawer. Hank’s stress levels may be over the moon and back, but Gavin was a little bit worried too. Slowly Connor had learnt how to say his name better, but with his age ‘Gaffin’ was probably the furthest he could get, and it was a good transition from ‘Gammon’, but the uncle bit killed him a little. He always told him to stop, but it was more of a reputation thing, he never once said he didn’t _like_ being called his uncle. He wanted him alive as much as the next guy.

Connor could already be dead, Frederick seemed keen to find him. How he did it so quick they could hopefully ask him. Hands cuffed, sat in an inescapable cell, face bloody if Gavin could have his way with him. Hank even, he’d probably kill the guy. Nobody would stop him if he tried. He just hoped Connor would be alive; not even healthy at this point, he was fully expecting some form of.. torture to take place before they could rescue him. Frederick was theatrical with his deaths, the time it took him to prepare was the time they had to save him.

Gavin picked up his gun and checked it was loaded, then stood up and put it into his holster. He had two spare rounds, he’d be fine. Connor would be somewhat fine. Hank wouldn’t freak the fuck out. Is this what being a corporal or sergeant was like? He liked the control, but something of this level really should have someone of Hank’s rank controlling it, but trusted by Fowler to handle it filled Gavin with the pride he so badly craved. He’d be sure to get a promotion after this, surely.

Everyone waited for him out back, geared up with varying sizes of weaponry. “Any movement from Connor?” Gavin asked the technician they’d brought along, both to track the location and to perform any needed maintenance on Connor.

“No, his geographical co-ordinates haven’t even changed. He has to be there, otherwise the chip would be offline. His first one never appeared by the time Anderson called up.”

“That’s good, it’s becoming more likely that they won’t move at all. We have until his second tracker pops up. We don’t know when that is, but we act like it could be any moment, act with haste everyone. Right, in the van.”

~*~

Connor vigorously shook his head, leaning back as far as he could so Frederick couldn’t touch him, but he managed to grab the back of his head with his hand and smack some tape over his mouth with the other. “You’re already through the first verse of the poem _Connor,_ you really want to die don’t you?” Connor squealed and shook his head more, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Frederick then put some tape over his nose. “I know you don’t need to breathe, fucking machine, but it’ll hurry up the next verse. You want that don’t you?” Connor kept squealing. “Oh how sweet, you think you can talk. Daddy isn’t going to find you, he won’t find you until I put this in.” He waved a small chip in front of him. “Your little tracker, also connected to your little phone feature. No calling daddy for help. You’re at my mercy.”

Connor didn’t even know what he meant by verse. Verses of what? A poem? A song? Recent murders had been poem inspired, but he didn’t know if he bothered to do an entire poem. What, stealing Shakespearian sonnets now to kill children? It was genius, but vague and sadistic beyond belief. “Choke, Connor. _Choke._ ”

~*~

Gavin lead the line of officers towards the building Connor’s leg tracker was in, hopefully with him still attached to it. He pointed left and three men went off, then right and three more included Hank went around the back of the building. Three entrances, three teams. They all wore earpieces to talk to each other, so if anybody said anything then everyone would hear it.

They pressed themselves close to the wall, listening for any sounds inside, but it seemed silent. “Everyone in position?” Gavin whispered, receiving two answers of ‘yes’. “We go in on three.” He held his gun in one hand, pointed upwards, his hand on the door handle. “One.. Two.. Three!”

Three doors slammed open simultaneously, the nine officers rushing into the warehouse and pointing their guns in random directions until they settled on Frederick at the back. He genuinely looked shocked to see them all there, but he quickly tried to hide that fact and retained his composure. He held Connor by something they couldn’t see, but whatever it was kept his body practically horizontal despite how much he was writhing and squealing in panic. “Put him down!” Hank yelled, seething with rage.

“Ah. Look Connor, daddy has come to try and save you.” Connor tried to look over and yell at him, but all he could manage was some kicking of his legs. “It’s a shame he’s too late isn’t it? We’ve almost finished our poem haven’t we?”

“Poem?” Someone else questioned. “What poem?”

“Oh, are you not aware of my work? I’m disappointed, I thought I was more well known than that. Allow me to enlighten you.” He pulled Connor closer to him and held him up with two hands, showing everyone his bound body. “She cries salty tears. For inside of those eyes, she carries an ocean.” Frederick leaned forward and licked a tear off of Connor’s cheek, then cringed at the metallic taste. “It’s depths unexplored, with unbearable pressure that no life could survive.” His hand touched Connor’s neck and his chassis was revealed. A button was pressed and his body hissed, letting air in, but it quickly closed again. “Except in some cavern, _deep in the heart,_ demons and creatures, so violent and gruesome-“

“Cut the bullshit! Drop him!”

Frederick completely ignored them. “They feed off the darkness, so she holds back when someone asks what’s wrong; _for fear of drowning them.”_ He sighed, holding Connor over the object beside him again. “A personal favourite of mine, I’d been waiting for someone special to use it on. Shame it has to end this way for me, beside my last kill. I hadn’t planned this so soon.” Connor kicked his arm. “Although.. I never liked the ending of them. Fear of drowning them? It’s so vague. I like to think it means she’s drowning herself. Deep in the heart? Now _there_ is a good idea.”

“Let the boy go or we’ll shoot!”

“Let him go? Drop him? It’s almost like you want me to kill him!” Frederick laughed. “Android children should never have existed in this world! Decreasing the human population and taking up places in our schools! What a pile of shit! I’ll gladly drop him!”

Frederick twisted something that made Connor screech, but it was cut short as he was dropped into the large container; a large, loud splash drowning out his noise. After that, the room was silent, the water, or whatever liquid was in there, and it muffled him too much. Hank took a step forward but Frederick quickly pulled out a gun and aimed it at him. “Oh no you don’t! Ha! You think I’d let you do that!?”

“You’re completely outnumbered, lower your fucking gun.”

“Nope! This gun has one bullet and I don’t care who it’s on! If I hear a gun ring, I’ll pull the trigger on you!” Three guns in the room clicked, safety mode off. “Alright then. What if I aim it at him?” The gun moved so it was aimed into the tank, presumably right at Connor. “He’s dead either way, it depends how long you want to drag this out. I’ve got a funeral to attend.”

He looked into the tank, only a quick glance, but quick enough for the officer out of Frederick’s peripheral vision to send a bullet right through his head. His body stood right for a moment, a gentle flow of blood trickling down his face, the ground in front now splattered. The gun fell from his hand and that was enough to off balance him. His body began to lean forward before he fully fell into the tank, landing with another splash.

Hank’s immediate reaction was to run forward, leaping up the few steps to the tank platform and peering in. “Connor!?” He jumped in, the water about chest height. And absolutely _freezing!_ He shoved Frederick to the side and Connor floated up, no longer kicking or making noise.

He quickly picked him up out the water and slung him over his shoulder, climbing out one handed and jumping to the ground. His LED was off. His thirium pump was dislodged. His chest exposed his internal wiring. Hank ripped the tape off his face, water flowing out both his nostrils and his mouth. “Connor.. Connor can you hear me!?” He pushed his pump back into place, but it just made a squelch and did nothing, popping back out. “Con say something! Move something!”

The technician came running in, skidding to a halt. He briefly looked at the blood splatters, but then it was to Connor’s body. “He’s waterlogged we need to remove all his limbs to empty him immediately. The latches are on his shoulders and his hips, enough pressure will just pop them out.”

Hank tried to help, his hands shaking a little bit. He popped Connor’s arm out, water coming with it. The same happened to his legs, he was literally soaked to the bone. How did the water get in so quickly? Was it the pressure of cutting off his ability to ‘breathe’? He didn’t need to, but it regulated his body temperature.

The technician almost pushed Hank out the way, now working on what was left of Connor’s torso. He took out the regulator and turned him over, hoping to get out anymore water that was still inside. He opened a panel in his stomach. Two wires were disconnected, but he left them alone. He tried pressing his LED, but it didn’t flicker. He tried the reset at the top of his spine, but that only got a brief flash of red. “The fuck are you doing? Wake him up already!” Hank barked, smacking a hand on the ground.

“What do you think I’m trying to do!? Nothing’s working! The water has severely damaged his wiring, I don’t-“

“Keep fucking trying!”

The technician looked a little overwhelmed, but he kept trying various methods of trying to wake Connor up. It wasn’t even the remaining droplets of water at this point, sticking him in a large bag of rice wouldn’t work. Blowing him with hairdryers wasn’t going to fix a fried wire. The last option was the wires in his abdomen, usually a quick fix to get an android up and running before they’d get sent off for repairs. If this didn’t work, he’d have to face the very angry and desperate lieutenant behind him.

The two wires made a small spark. Connor’s LED flashed red. It turned off. The technician felt a bit of hope and tried again. He used his jacket to try and dry the wires. He picked at the individual strands of copper to line them up. He tried again. A spark, no LED. Third try. Nothing.

He sat back on his knees and Hank barked another order at him to keep fiddling. “Lieutenant, there’s nothing I can do.” He got called out for bullshit. “You’ve seen it yourself, those wires will jumpstart any android as long as they’re repairable. I could try to jumpstart him like an old car, but with the water in his system it would fry his insides. His regulator won’t work with a jump spark either, you can fill it with a small amount of electricity and it injects it, an android child version of defibrillation. There’s no bringing back a human after failed defibrillation. There’s no bringing Connor back from any of this.”

“Then what are you saying? Say it in fucking English!” The technician stayed quiet. “Say it! Fucking say it!”

They sighed. “He’s dead.. Connor’s dead.”

And Hank’s heart shattered. It felt like his heart had stopped. He reached for Connor, seeing two arms and hands, shaking violently. He touched his face, but he couldn’t feel it. He was numb. His whole just felt _numb._ His vision blurred, he must be crying. Sobbing. He felt this when Cole died. His first son. Now his second. Practically the same age. Why him? What kind of shit had he done to deserve this much karma? How many points had he been building up to get both his sons killed? He knew this could happen. He knew. He _knew._ But he couldn’t accept it. He couldn’t accept that possibility. He promised Connor this wouldn’t happen. He promised him and he failed him! Did he know he was going to die? Was it quick? Was he in pain? Was he scared?

A pain erupted in Hank’s chest. He didn’t care. He stared at Connor. He wouldn’t look elsewhere. He felt like he couldn’t move anymore. He was fairly sure the people around him were saying his name. Why bother? He wouldn’t answer. His throat was completely closed up, he couldn’t get a word out even if he tried. He choked on a sob. Fuck that was painful. Everything was painful. Everything was double.

Connor’s body swayed in his vision. Before Hank really knew it, his vision whizzed by. Connor’s body swung out of view and he went face first into the concrete ground. _Fuck it._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST TRUST ME ON THIS


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your trust has been accepted and you shall be rewarded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY LORD I AM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE HALF YOU MUST WANT TO KILL ME AT THIS POINT BUT IT'S HERE! IT'S HERE!! (it also might accidentally be over 3600 words, get some popcorn)

Hank felt like shit. That wasn’t any different to usual. He opened his eyes to an empty room. Hospital? It could well be, how would he have got here? Where was he.. Oh. _Oh._ “Connor..” Hank whispered, feeling upset all over again.

Some beeping beside him went a bit crazy and he looked left, seeing a heart rate monitor. What exactly happened to him? He just remembered sobbing over Connor, trying to reach out for him, but everything just went blank after that. It was his fucking heart wasn’t it? Why couldn’t he just die and be with his sons.. His reasons to live, both taken from him. “Connor…” He repeated, putting his hands over his face.

He probably wouldn’t even have a grave to visit. Would Cyberlife just get rid of him? Maybe he’d been out for a few days, he could be long gone by now, or maybe just an hour ago he was sobbing over his dismembered body. What time was it? What day was it? Why should he care? “Hank, is everything alright?” A voice asked. He lowered his hands and saw a female nurse at the foot of his bed. “Your heart rate shot up, do you feel any pain?”

The fuck? “I’m.. I’m fine.”

She gave him an apologetic smile. “Do you have any memory of what happened? Do you know why you’re in hospital?”

“My son, he.. he was killed. He was on the floor, just.. just lying there. I was lookin’ at ‘im. Then..”

“Then you had a heart attack.” They both heard Hank’s heart skip a beat. “Luckily, some of the officers with you had medical training so you never went into cardiac arrest, but the shock and sudden drop in blood pressure meant you lost consciousness.”

“How.. how long was I out?”

“Only overnight, it’s currently 11am. So approximately 16 hours. Is there anyone you would like us to call? A man called Arthur accompanied you here, but when you were okay he left again. Any family? Friends?” Connor was his only family and friend. And he was dead. _Dead._

Hank simply shook his head. “Nah. My family has died of old age now. No friends.” The nurse pitied him a little. “Just me.” He tried a laugh, but all he could think of was Connor at the moment, and his heart monitor showed that. “So what now? I leave soon? I don’t need a fucking pacemaker or something do I?”

“No, no pacemaker.” They smiled. “You should be able to leave within a couple days. Today we need to take a few tests to diagnose what you need for the future, and we’d like to ask you some questions about your lifestyle; like diet, exercise, alcohol and cigarettes, those kind of things.”

They were going to have an absolute field day with him! Just his physical appearance screamed ‘I was bound to have a heart attack! Should’ve just let me die!’ God, he knew he’d feel suicidal again. He’d been pulled out of it by Connor, and now he was put back in it for the same reason. “Alright.” He answered, and the nurse left.

He sighed. Yesterday morning had been fine. Sleep deprived, but fine. Connor had been laughing, breakfast all over his face. He pointed and interacted with a show on TV, an educational show. He’d rubbed at Sumo for nearly ten minutes straight, mumbling about soft he was and how much of a good boy he was. Wriggling around was the most exercise Sumo currently got with his damaged paw, but when Hank got out he’d probably be able to go on short walks again, the both of them basically in home rehab. Connor would probably ask what rehab was.

Connor had played in the shopping trolley, patting at the bar and talking to Hank until he got more interested in his toys than an actual conversation. Then Fowler had to call and ruin everything, it all spiralled from there. Fowler probably convinced him to go to the park, and while Connor looked like he was enjoying himself, it was barely ten minutes before Hank lost sight of him. Frederick had been waiting for them. Possibly even following them. He tortured him… His core pulled out. He drowned. A being that didn’t need to breathe, _drowned._

Where was he right now..?

~*~

_Earlier_

Gavin finished his phone call to Fowler and turned back to the remaining officers. Hank had been taken to a hospital for a fucking heart attack; _Guy had it coming,_ Gavin thought, but he did feel bad for him; and Connor was still lying on the ground. “Alright everyone, today’s been.. rough, to say the least, but it was almost completely successful. Good job, you all deserve to pat yourselves on the back.” And of course there was that one smartass who actually did it. “Samantha, you stay here and wait for the coroner to come pick up Frederick’s body. Logan, you stay here too. I’m going to take Connor to Cyberlife, see if there’s anything that can be done.. The rest of you can head back to the office, or go home. I’ll sort through the paperwork when I’m done with the kid.”

He really deserved a fucking promotion after all this shit. The day only kept getting worse. He was upset over Connor too, the kid had found his soft spot for children but he couldn’t just start crying in front of everyone. He was _technically_ the kid’s actual uncle, but nobody needed to know that, and nor was he going to tell anyone.

Connor was light. Lighter than a regular child of his size despite all the water inside him, but the majority had now all been drained out. His limp head hung back, lifeless eyes staring up at the ceiling. This was too fucking depressing.. Gavin bounced his arm which made his head lift, and by bending his wrist a little painfully he managed to close his eyes. The least he could do was pretend he was asleep, not.. this. Imagine Anderson’s fucking face if he woke up to see his kid alive next to him. That was the ideal scenario to come out of this. Worst case would be the both of them dying. They’d be ‘together’ as some people would probably say, but that was the coward’s way of looking at it.

Gavin lay Connor down on the back seats of his car, using two seatbelts to hold him there. He didn’t sit upright properly, and he was far to short for use it anyway without a proper seat, but only Hank had one for him. He turned on the radio for a distraction, using the siren built into his car to speed through traffic. Maybe he’d get told off for doing this, but his argument could be the hurry to Cyberlife to save the kid for the investigation purposes. Technically, this collateral damage was allowed since (as an adult) Connor gave permission to die. They could just leave it at this. Leave him dead. No questions as to what Frederick did, what he might have told him, or what the android had transferred to him at his house. “This has got to be the most successful fucking mess of a case…” He sighed. “One day I’ll be high enough to do shit properly. Just you wait Anderson..”

He kept glancing in the back, just on the off chance Connor woke up on his own accord. He didn’t of course, so Gavin carried him into Cyberlife in his own silence. Being night time, the place was nearly empty. A couple guards, and a receptionist. Worryingly, it announced Connor’s model in the front room and the guards immediately rushed over, their guns raised. “Who are you? Identify yourself!” One demanded.

“Easy, easy.. My name’s Gavin Reed, I’ve been in control of the assigned case to the serial android killer..” The guards frowned at him.

“Where’s Hank Anderson? We’re aware of the case and Connor’s involvement, but you’re not his father.”

“I’m his uncle.” _Literally._ “Hank is in hospital, he suffered a minor heart attack, borderline cardiac arrest. He was unconscious when they got him in the ambulance barely an hour ago. I’m here to save Connor, please you’ve got to help him.”

They believed him, guns going back into their holsters. “Apologies. Come this way.”

Gavin followed one of them further into the Cyberlife centre, explaining what happened along the way. He struggled with what was actually wrong with the kid except for “He was completely waterlogged” because that’s all he could think of. An android drowned to death; it was almost ironic. The guard seemed concerned, probably not wanting to tell the detective that saving him was a bit of a farfetched idea, but the guard neither knew the technical differences Connor had as the YK300, or at least before he deviated the second time. “Wait here, someone else will be out soon to analyse him.”

“Thanks.” Too many plastics around…

He looked down at the kid. He’d seen him asleep in Hank’s arms a few times, and he either moved around a little bit to get comfortable, or he’d murmur something, or sometimes just an arm would move to be more closer to his dad. It was just strange to see none of that happen. Just still and silent, as if someone had put him in a position and frozen him. “Detective?” A woman came rushing over, a human this time. “Quickly, come this way.”

Well, no need to ask him twice. He followed the woman down the hallway and into a door on the left. It looked like a lab; computers to the left, wire covered equipment pushed against the walls, and in the centre was a white slab of a table. The woman dragged a couple bits of machinery over to it. “Please, lay him there. We have a couple emergency procedures to try, and the sooner the better. Do you know if he ever did memory recordings?” Gavin lay him down, then questioned what that last question meant. “Did he ever upload his memory? Regularly as an RK800 unit he would upload data in case of deactivation, did he ever use it?”

“I honestly don’t have the faintest fucking idea. I didn’t even know plast- androids could do that. Probably? If he did it before then maybe I don’t fucking know.”

The woman sighed. She deactivated Connor’s skin and took off the head plate. That looked so weird. He had no top of his head, a dark blue-grey mass was inside with ports all over it, already with wires that disappeared further into his body. Kamski actually built these things with brains, they had ribcages and a plastic framework to simulate bones.. literal plastic humans… _what a fucking waste,_ Gavin thought. _Except Connor._ An afterthought. “So what are these emergency procedures?”

“One is an electric shot directly to his core, and if that fails I will shock his pump. If neither of them transfer information over a minimum distance, then the only hope is if he uploaded his data. If the shocks don’t work it means his memory chip is probably damaged beyond repair, from all the water that short circuited him.”

“Would it have been painful..? Drowning like that?”

“Most likely.” Gavin cringed.

He leant against the wall while he watched her at work. Wires went into Connor’s head, she pulled some out and let them rest on the table, all thirium stained; she opened up his chest, two panels sliding open and Gavin was able to see the inner workings of anything in the torso region. The ‘ribcage’ was more of a plastic mesh, but it was close enough- and she removed it! Just what was she trying to access? Wasn’t the pump easy to remove from the forefront? Child models were slightly more protected, he’d seen it plenty in the recent crime scenes, but it still wasn’t _that_ hard to reach. He’d seen the little tyke held up by it just a couple hours ago. If that.

Things sparked, parts of his body glowed blue, his LED flickered like a filament bulb, but he didn’t see the kid’s eyes open once. If he had to go tell Anderson that Cyberlife couldn’t fix him... the guy would probably have a second heart attack. Old age was a bitch.. not even that old, actually. He really wasn’t. “Detective?” He looked over at the woman. “You said you didn’t know if he ever uploaded his memories?”

“Correct.”

“Well, I have an answer for you.”

~*~

Having no watch was a massive pain in the ass. It meant Hank just woke up having no clue whether it was night or day. Usually the brightness of the light in the room was an indicator, some turned off in the middle of the night, and they were dimmed in the evenings, but during the day they might be off and he couldn’t tell because it was apparently cloudy outside.

So right now, as he opened his eyes to the usual white ceiling, looking a pale grey, he couldn’t tell whether it was 4pm or 4am. He felt a mass beside him, and he wondered if some sucker from the DPD had actually come to visit him. But why would they sit on the bed? He rolled over, and Gavin fucking Reed was in the plastic chair, asleep with his head leaning backward. The mass beside him was under the covers, so probably just some equipment. “Reed?” He called, confused.

The poor man jumped awake with a sort of snort, then he looked slightly embarrassed about falling asleep. He looked at his watch. “Really? You gotta wake up right now? It’s 5am.”

“Well it’s a little hard to tell the time when you can’t see the fuckin’ sun. Why you even here?”

Gavin frowned at him, then looked at the lump on the bed, but quickly realised Hank hadn’t actually looked at it properly. “Because of that stupid lump next to you. Don’t freak out. Be real fucking they just go to sleep.”

They? He couldn’t mean… there was no way. He lifted up the bedsheet and he felt his heart skip a beat again. Maybe even two. Connor was actually pressed into his side. Asleep. His LED lit up a spot on the sheets. He was _alive._ He was _here._ “O-oh my god… Christ..” Hank gently touched his cheek. So soft.. his skin was so smooth, his hands were so small, and his feet.. He’d never appreciated every small feature of Connor before, down to the section of freckles across his nose. His little boy…

“I stayed here to tell you, and also to keep an eye on him. He did _not_ want to go to sleep, so now I’ve only had about an hour of sleep. Hence.. let him get some sleep. He’s been begging to see you since he woke up yesterday afternoon, finally ran out of juice. He’s been quiet, I told him not to wake you and he clearly didn’t. Well behaved kid..”

Hank looked at him, but then back down at Connor. He gently pulled him higher up so he could lay his head on the pillow. Even though the only difference was now that his LED was on, Hank still thought Connor looked different. His pump was back inside his body, no thirium stains from removed parts or abuse, his arms were curled up tight to hold onto him rather than to a serial killer, and he was even dressing in pyjamas, as if they were home. “Where’d he get these clothes?” White, cotton, dog bone pattern.

“Cyberlife. I said I was bringing you here, and thankfully about the millionth person or android I met was actually really friendly towards Connor and I. Can’t believe I spent over 12 hours in that damned place for him.. They had to give him a new body, custom made to still look like him, but without any of the fancy tech. Apparently he uploaded his memories just before he uh.. _died,_ so they put the chip into a new body. Then he had to boot up or whatever, and then it was like someone coming out a coma, it took five hours! He immediately wanted you, although I wasn’t too bad of a substitute. They had him in that Cyberlife uniform, the green one, but when I said where we were going then gave him some pyjamas. He got changed when I suggested he go to sleep, but he just got under the covers and lay there till he passed out.”

Yeah, that sounded like Connor. Stubborn. He stayed up to see Hank awake, but didn’t see it. Just an hour out, but on such little battery, and so peaceful… Hank just wanted to watch him sleep. “Thank you, Gavin. If it weren’t for you I don’t think anyone would take him to Cyberlife, he’d just.. go to a junkheap. I’d have to attend a funeral for my kid a second time.. but he’s here with me, thanks to you. You brought him here and made sure he was alright till I woke up.”

“Well.. whatever.” Gavin looked away, slightly red in the face. “He’s a good kid. He behaves when I tell him what to do. He also calls me his uncle, so.. gotta live up to that title, don’t I? Like I’m going to have to live up to being Corporal Detective.”

Hank raised his eyebrows. “Well, congratulations. You might become a lieutenant quicker than I did at this point. My case was red ice, I wonder what yours will be.” Gavin shrugged, standing up. “Heading home?”

“Yeah. You’re fine now, so.. I doubt Connor will be going anywhere.” He couldn’t look at him. “I’ll let Fowler know you’re alright. Guy’s been worried.. Anyway.. bye.” He simply nodded his head, and left the room.

“See ya..” Hank looked back at Connor and smiled wide. “Con..”

~*~

Great. Now the room was bright. He was fairly sure he was woken up by the light turning on. He opened his eyes, begrudgingly, but he was met with a pair of brown ones looking right back at him. The face was flat, almost scrunched in concentration, but when Hank fully opened his eyes it quickly grew excited. “Daddy?” They asked, then a little louder.

Hank smiled, his large hand covering the whole of his head as he ruffled his hair. “Daddy!” Connor cried, squealing as he was lifted high in the air, dangling above him. “Hi daddy! You’re okay!”

“I’m okay? You’re _alive_ Con! You’re alive! I didn’t think I was gonna see you again!” Hank immediately began to cry. “But look at you up there! Soaring and kicking!” Connor giggled and kicked some more, clutching to Hank’s arms so he didn’t fall out. “You’re flying!”

“I’m flying- wha!” Hank quickly brought him back down for a hug. “I’m crashing! I’m crashing! Psssssh!” He whacked Hank’s chest, making the man cough. “We landed on an active volcano! It’s gonna blow!”

“No-no-“ Hank coughed more and moved Connor back off of him so he could get his breath back once his fit was over. “Not daddy’s chest Connor, he’s a bit bruised up there.”

“Sorry daddy. Uncle Gaffin said you had a heart attack. Did you heart stop?”

“No, that’s called a cardiac arrest. My heart rate got really really slow, and that made all the blood in my body go to anywhere that wasn’t my brain so I fell over. It got a little clotted, and the doctors thinned it back out so I could get better. I’ll need to have a little surgery in a few weeks, get something to help regulate it.” A pacemaker. “You might have to go back to that nursery for a while and stay with Markus.” Connor whined. “I know, and I want to be with you too, now more than ever, but daddy won’t be coming home that quickly. I don’t know how long you can stay today either.” He picked him up again and put him back on his stomach, feeling the material of his pyjamas. “God these are soft aren’t they?”

“Yeah, super soft! But daddy why can’t you come home? I wanna be with you and Sumo! I missed you really really bad I don’t wanna go to Markus!”

“Con, I’m more unwell than you think.” Connor pouted. “I’m gonna live, don’t you worry I’m not actually going anywhere, but for a while I’m going to be quite tired, I don’t think I’ll be able to take care of you and Sumo very well. I’ll hire a babysitter for you, just while I recover.”

Connor looked at him, confused. “But we’ll be home?”

“Yeah, we’ll be at home.”

“Yay!! And what about tonight??”

“Well..”

~*~

_Later that day_

Hank was allowed to be discharged for the day, able to go to work and pick up some things. He wasn’t retiring or anything, but he had some things there. Unsure really what to do, he left Connor behind. Home alone wouldn’t be safe, and the neighbour already had Sumo to look after at this point. So… the DPD again. He got onto the sofa in the breakroom, where Gavin had moved him to last time… it felt ages ago. Gavin had refused to acknowledge his presence that night, only helping him to pee and then give him breakfast. Even Hank didn’t like him. Now, Hank was his adoptive and father; and Gavin.. “Hey kid.”

Connor looked up, Gavin stood in front of him. He held a car seat in one hand, and a rucksack in the other, a plush dog head sticking out the top of it. He was slightly red in the face. “You coming or what?”

Connor beamed and jumped off the sofa, jogging along after Gavin. His _uncle_ Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See this is why you trust me! Not for regular updates, but to make things alright because I don't enjoy tearing out my heart either <3
> 
> We're super close to the end now, I don't know if the next chapter will actually be the epilogue, I'm too writer tired to know rn but by Friday I'll have an idea again or maybe even a new update, but we all know by now that probably won't happen huh? For updates (or to yell at me about updating) feel free to yeet to my tumblr @Fizzabel 
> 
> See ya when I see ya <3

**Author's Note:**

> Woo! First chapter! Next chapter is adult Connor too, but it's all child after that :) 
> 
> Also these chapters are going to seriously vary in length, then next one is almost 1000 more than this one! So apologies in advanced for the variation. Hope you liked this chapter!!


End file.
